


Ctrl - Mike Hanlon X Reader (re-uploaded)

by orphan_account



Category: IT (Movies - Muschietti), IT - Stephen King
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Alternate Universe - High School, Black!Reader - Freeform, F/F, F/M, LGBTQ Female Character of Color, M/M, Mike Hanlon Deserves Nice Things, Period-Typical Homophobia, Period-Typical Racism, Sonia Kaspbrak's A+ Parenting, Teenage Losers Club (IT), no beta we die like men
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-08
Updated: 2020-11-14
Packaged: 2021-03-07 19:13:47
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 13
Words: 30,014
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26902684
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: You moved to Derry, Maine the summer before the events of IT. You quickly became friends with four kids: Bill Denbrough, Richie Tozier, Eddie Kaspbrak, and Stan Uris. Everything was good till the infamous "Summer of '89" where your whole world came crashing down. Who'd know that your friend group would expand and add a new member who gave you butterflies in your stomach?*This was written in the intent of a black reader and will basically be the plot of IT Chapter 1. BTW the losers are aged up to 17*(Updates whenever lmao, but usually friday)
Relationships: Ben Hanscom/Beverly Marsh, Beverly Marsh/Reader, Bill Denbrough/Beverly Marsh, Bill Denbrough/Stanley Uris, Eddie Kaspbrak/Richie Tozier, Mike Hanlon/Reader
Comments: 25
Kudos: 6





	1. Supermodel

> _"That is my greatest fear - That if, if I lost control - Or did not have control, things would just, you know - I would be..._ _fatal."_

y/n POV: 

Move to Derry they said. It would be fun they said. Hi, I'm y/n and this is the story of how I gained a group of friends and a boyfriend in only a year, year and a half. It all started when I got off the bus ride home from my old school in Montgomery, Alabama. At my old school, you could say I was a bit of a loner. It's not like I didn't want to make friends but with racists acting like segregation wasn't officially abolished in 1964, I decided the best (and safest) way was to keep to myself. But today was the last day of my sophomore year, so I would no longer need a reason to deal with them. At my stop, I grabbed my stuff and rushed off the bus and toward my house as fast as I could. I only lived with my mom as my dad "mysteriously disappeared". Bullshit. We all knew the truth. He was killed by racists only two years ago. Dad tried to boycott his job that wouldn't promote him, despite him being a better fit for the job than the other man that they did promote. That incident caused my mom to work extra shifts and save as much money Dad had before he was killed. I never knew why as I thought we had enough to stay in our house. What I didn't know at the time was that we did have enough to afford our house, but that wasn't my mom's goal. She wanted to move up north, thinking it wouldn't be as bad as staying in Alabama. Once I got to my house, I stepped inside to see around 7 boxes of stuff marked with different names. My eyes zeroed in on an open box marked with my name.

"Mom?" I called as I dropped my bag. 

"Hi, sweetie." she replied as she put down a box labeled 'bathroom' in her nice, neat handwriting. 

"What's going on?" I asked, gesturing to the box scattered around our living room. 

"Oh, sweetie did I not tell you?" she replied as I shook my head no. "We're moving." 

"Moving? Why? I thought we were happy here?" I asked in disbelief. Don't get me wrong, I didn't like this place as much as the next person. But this was the only home I had ever known. My childhood home that would always hold a place in my heart. 

"Oh, sweetie after you father..." she started as light tears engulfed both of our eyes. " I couldn't handle the stress of something happening to you. So, despite having the money to afford this house, I worked extra hours so that we could move somewhere better. Somewhere slightly better." she spoke as she handed me the box labeled 'y/n'. "Now, please grab everything that you want in the new house. But, don't grab any furniture since there isn't any room in the car," she said as she walked into the kitchen. 

I walked straight toward my room with the box and my bookbag in hand. As I looked around my room, tears started to stream down my face. I know she was right about moving but it still hurt. All these memories. All those moments. I quickly wiped my face, grabbed my things, and dropped them into the box. As the box filled up I had to decide if I would keep Bun-Bun, a stuffed bunny given to me by Dad for my 8th birthday. I started to sleep with it more after Dad pasted since it smelled like him. After a few minutes of staring at the bunny, I put it on the floor and closed up the box. I don't need a stuffed animal anymore, I'm a junior now. I then moved onto the clothes in my closet and quickly put them in my bag. As I slipped the bag on and grabbed the box, I stared at Bun-Bun again. I quickly dropped the box, grabbed her, and put her into my bag. She's all I have left of my dad and my childhood. 

I walked back into the living room to see Mom coming back inside the house. 

"Hurry up and grab the 'bathroom' and 'kitchen' boxes so that we can leave before it gets dark," she replied as she grabbed another box. I stooped down and grab those two boxes and carefully waddled my way to the car since I couldn't see over them. I tried closing the trunk but it wouldn't close after about 4 pushes, Mom came over and we pushed it together. We both got in the car and we drove away from our home. I unzipped my bag and grabbed Bun-Bun and watched our house til was out of view. I silently shed a few tears as we passed by my school. I never did like that place but it was still sad. I hugged Bun-Bun tight and sniffed trying to cling to Dad's scent as we passed by a sign reading, 'You are now leaving Montgomery, Alabama.'

* * *

> _"I'm writing this letter to let you know I'm really leaving - And no, I'm not keeping your shit."_

It took us three days of on and off driving to get to our new house, in Derry, Maine of all places. We got to our new house at around nine in the morning. I started to get out of the car as Mom lightly touched my arm. 

"Now, I know this isn't really what you were expecting. But, just know that I appreciate your cooperation and I will make it up to you. Ok, sweetie?" she spoke as I turned around. She grabbed my face and placed a soft kiss on my cheek. "Maybe, if you want, I can buy you a bike so that you don't have to always walk or go on the bus?" She asked as I nodded. She smiled in response. "Now, I have to call the realtor about both homes and my new boss about my job. So, could you be a dear and bring in the boxes and unpack? Once your done, maybe you could go out and make some new friends?" Mom said as I snorted. Me? Friends? Ha! I wish, but maybe she's right. New house, new town, new people. Anything could happen. 

I jumped out of the car, opened the trunk, grabbed the first box, and went into the house. Mom was already on the phone as I set the box down. I kept doing this till I felt eyes on my back, I turned around and saw a boy stared at me from the house next door. Once he noticed I was looking at him, his face turned red and he ran inside. I chuckled as I continued into the house. 

~slight time skip~

As I finished putting up the last poster I heard Mom step into my room. 

"I called my boss and he said he needs me in the office today to get me set up and work out my hours. But, I promise I'll be back as soon as I can and with your new bike too," she said as she kissed my cheek. "And remember, try to find some friends," she stated as she walked out of my new room. Friends? Yeah ok? But, I'll try anyway. 

I sat on my new porch and watched as the cars went by every so often. It was slightly cooler up here than Alabama even though it was summer. I kept watching the cars til I saw a boy bike pass me. I thought nothing of it till he biked pass again. Weird. Then, he passed by again but this time stopped in front of the house. I got a good look at him and noticed it was the boy from earlier. He looked like he wanted to say something, but as he opened his mouth, I heard screaming, 

"Eddie-Bear! Get in this house this instant! You know freshly cut grass can mess with your allergies!" the voice yelled from the house next door. The boy, I assume is Eddie or "Eddie-Bear" slaps his hand over his face, sighs, and walks back over toward the house with his bike. Before he steps in though, he turns and waves towards me, and I wave back. He smiles and steps into the house. I waited on the porch till Mom got home, around 7 as the last streaks of the sunsets were drowned out of the darkness of the sky. She showed me my new bike, a shiny black one like the ones I saw other kids have in Alabama. As I put it into the garage, Mom asked,

"So, did you meet anyone?" I smiled, thinking back to Eddie. I decided not to tell her and just shook my head in response. I would tell her another day. 

One thing about Maine that's like Alabama, is the night sky. Both stars here and there twinkle and shine with indescribable brightness.

* * *

> " _Why I can't stay alone just by myself? - Wish I was comfortable just with myself - But I need you, but I need you, but I need you."_

The rest of the summer was honestly boring. Mostly just grabbing groceries and riding around on my bike to anywhere and any place. I didn't talk to Eddie for the whole summer. I waved to him a few times and saw him around town with three other boys. But, I never talked to him till the first day of school. The first day of school is always the worst. Even when I went to school with the same kids my whole life back in Alabama, it was still nerve-racking. Once I got to the high-school and walked inside, I felt eyes all on me. It was like it wasn't normal to have someone new or maybe someone who looked like me. I walked to my first class and the teacher asked me to stand by his desk. Soon the teacher started talking.

"Settle down. Settle down," he instructed as all the kids quieted down and turned towards me. "Class, I would like you to meet y/n l/n. She's from Montgomery, Alabama, and came up to Derry, Maine. I want you all to be nice and make her feel at home." The teacher said. "Why don't you take that empty seat right next to Mr. Kaspbrack." He said as he pointed to the window seat next to Eddie. I quickly got to my seat and waved at Eddie as he waved back at me. As the teacher started class, the boy behind Eddie started talking.

"How the hell do you know **her**?" He staged whispered as if he didn't have an inside voice.

"She's my neighbor, dickwad." Eddie replied rolling his eyes.

"G-g-guys I think she can h-hear you." the boy behind me said as they turned toward me and saw me looking at them smirking. I waved to them and they waved at back. I then turned to face the board again as I rolled my eyes. This was going to be a long day. 

~time skip to the end of the day~ 

Eddie and his friends kept looking in my direction and talking the whole day. I decided to ignore them until the end of the day. I was grabbing all the books that I needed and as I closed my locker, there was Eddie and his friends, making me jump. 

"W-whoah sorry! Didn't mean to s-s-scare you!" one of the boys spoke. He was the kid from earlier with the stutter. "My name is B-Bill, Bill Denbrough. You already know Eddie," He said as he pointed at Eddie, who waved at me. "T-t-that's Stan, Stanley Uris," Bill said as pointed at the kid with curly hair. "And that's-" Bil started.

"I'm Richie, Richie Tozier at your service ma'am," Richie said as he tipped the invisible cowboy hat on his head and shot out his hand for me to shake it. 

"Hi, I'm y/n, y/n l/n. And, you know nobody has cowboy hats in the south, not in Alabama at least." I said as I went to shake Richie's hand. Instead of shaking my hand though, he kissed my hand. I jerked it back quickly as he started laughing. 

"Richie!" Eddie yelled as he hit Richie who just kept laughing. "I'm sorry about him," Eddie said as he quickly squirted hand sanitizer in my hands and yelling at Richie. 

"Don't worry. You'll get used to him and them." Stan said as Eddie and Richie started bickering like an old married couple. Oh boy, this would be fun.


	2. Love Galore

> _I need, I need - love, love, love - 'long as we got -love..._

y/n POV: 

~time skip to the last day of school~

This year was honestly one of the best years I had ever had. I quickly was integrated into the group or the 'Losers Club' as Richie calls it. I had even gotten close to all the guys individually. I always went bird watching with Stan since the rest of the losers hated it. It was a peaceful outing and gave me time to think since Stan would make me leave if I made any noise at all. Bill and I weren't the closet until his little brother, Georgie went missing. He ended up coming to my house crying and I comforted him as much I could. Richie was, well Richie. He taught me how to play street fighter after no one wanted to go to the arcade for the fifth time. And, he always tried to flirt but failed miserably. And, Eddie. I would never tell anyone but, I was the closest to him. He was always over my house to either study, stress over college, or just to talk. I tried going to his house but he always had an excuse for why I couldn't. I think the moment we officially became close was when one night, as we were studying, he looked right at me and then kissed me. I was dumbfounded. 

"What the hell?" I shouted as he pushed away. 

"I-I-I thought...was I bad?" he asked. 

"What? No, you were fine I guess. I don't know that was my first kiss." I said touching my lips. 

"Oh no. I ruined everything! I stole your first kiss. I-" Eddie rambled as he covered his face in shame. I tried comforting him but he kept crying. He eventually told me that he thought kissing me would get "thoughts" of Richie out of his head. I didn't understand at first but then I realized he was gay and he liked Richie, a lot. He stayed over my house that night and I made it my mission to get Richie and Eddie together, despite Eddie not knowing about the plan. 

Fast forward to the last day of school. I'm chilling in a study hall with Richie and Eddie, trying to finish some work but ultimately giving up as Richie kept bothering me and flirting with Eddie. They were bickering the whole time until the bell rang. That's when they were telling me the story of Stan's Bar Mitzvah. 

"Ok, so there was this church full of Jew, right? And Stan had to take this super Jewy test." Eddie started as we walked into the hallway. 

"But, wait how'd it work?" I asked. 

"They sliced the tip of his dick off," Eddie replied. 

"Now, Stan has nothing left!" Richie laughed. I shook my head as Stan and Bill came up from behind us. 

"Hey, Bill and Stan. Stan, what happened at your Bar Mitzvah? Eddie said the sliced the tip of your dick off." I said as Bill and Stan caught up to us. 

"W-what!" Bill laughed. Stan shook his head as the rest of the losers laughed confusing me. 

"What have you guys been telling her?" Stan said as he shot a glare between Eddie and Richie. 

"Nothing. Just that the rabbi pulled down your pants, turned to the crowd, and said, 'Where's the beef?' " Richie said, making us laugh except for Stan who was groaning. 

"At the Bar Mitzvah, I read from the Torah, made a speech, and was suddenly a man," Stan replied. 

"D-don't forget the part where you c-cussed out your Dad," Bill said. 

"Omg, I forgot about that!" Richie started. "Yeah he was all like, ' I know I'm a loser and no matter what I always fucking will be.' and just ran out." he finished, imitating Stan. 

"Yeah and then your dumbass started clapping until your mom pulled you down," Eddie said rolling his eyes. 

"Oh shit," I say as we walk by Bowers and his goons. They all look at us with terrifying stares. It feels like Henry's eyes are undressing me. I shutter as Richie starts talking. 

"Think they'll sign my yearbook? 'Dear Richie, sorry for taking a hot, steaming dump in your backpack last March. Have a good summer.' " he said, as I roll my eyes. As we start to walk down the stairs, Gretta Keene, a girl who decided to make my new life a living hell, ran straight into me, glaring. She was always calling me names and tried to trip me. I still don't know if she's just racist or if she's just jealous. We continued down the stairs and walked outside to the trash cans. The guys started opening their bags and dumping their stuff so I followed suit. 

"Best feeling ever," Stan said as his bag emptied. I nodded in response. It did feel good to finally be done. 

"Yeah? Try tickling your pickle for the first time." Richie replied, as Stan and I rolled our eyes.

"Hey, what do you guys wanna do tomorrow?" I ask.

"I start my training," Richie answered. 

"Wait, what training?" Eddie questioned. 

"Street Fighter." Richie and I said as I rolled my eyes. 

"Is that how you wanna spend your summer? Inside of an arcade?" Eddie replied. 

"Beats spending it inside of your mother. Oh!" Richie shouts as he raises his arm for us to high-five him. 

"What if we go to the quarry?" Stan asks as he lowers Richie's hand. I look around the group to see what they think. I can't go to the quarry especially if they want to swim. If I swim, my hair will curl up, revealing my natural hair. Not the straight hair I always have. There's nothing wrong with wearing natural hair but after being bullied for three years over it and constant begging, my mom caved in and taught me how to straighten my hair. Dad always disapproved of it saying that my natural hair was so much better without it, but it didn't matter. My hair was straight and beautiful. What nobody told me though, was that I'd have to straighten my hair each week. I tried to have Mom cave-in and let me get a relaxor but she refused. So, every Sunday before church, I straightened my hair and nobody was none the wiser over my hair. 

"Guy, we have the Barrens," Bill responded as I nodded. There was water over there too but not enough that my hair would be soaked. 

"Right," I said. 

"Betty Ripsom's mom," Eddie said as we all turned and looked at her. 

"Is she really expecting to see her come out of that school?" Stan asked.

"I don't know. As if Betty Ripsom's been hiding at Home Ec. for the last few weeks." Eddie replied, shaking his head.

"You think they'll actually find her?" I asked.

"Sure. In a ditch. All decomposed, covered in worms and maggots. Smelling like Eddie's mom's underwear." Richie replied.

"Shut up! That's freaking disgusting." Eddie said, punching Richie in the arm. 

"She's not dead. She’s missing." Bill corrected.

"Sorry, Bill. She's missing." Richie replied, as he fixed his glasses, a nervous tick Eddie pointed out to me. "You know the Barrens aren't that bad. WHo doesn't love splashing around in shitty water?" Richie starts. He goes to say more but is tripped by Patrick and falls into Stan. I go to help them up but feel Henry slap me in the ass. I glare at him as Patrick grabs Stan's kippah and throws it into the window of the passing bus. Belch burps into Eddie's face and he runs into me. I don't fall but I pull Eddie into a slight hug. Henry blows a kiss towards me and starts to walk away when Bill speaks up.

"You s-s-suck, Bowers!" Bill yells. 

"Shut up, Bill." Eddie and I say as Bowers and his goons turn around laughing. 

"You s-s-s-say something, Bi-Bi-Bi-Billy? You got a free ride this year 'cause of your little brother. Ride's over, Denbrough." Henry taunts. He looks like he wants to say more but something over our shoulders catches his eye. I look and see his Dad, the police chief giving him a 'Leave them alone' look. Henry rolls his eyes and continues. "This summer's gonna be a hurt train for you, your faggot friends, and that black barbie." He finishes as he looks me over, causing Eddie to hug me tighter. He then licks his hand and wipes it on Bill's cheek. He sends another look my way and then follows Belch and Patrick to Belch's car where Vic is waiting. They all get in the car and ride off. 

"I wish he'd go missing," I say, letting go of Eddie with my fists clenching. 

"He's probably the one doing it," Eddie replies.

* * *

> _"Why you bother me when you know you don't want me? - Why you bother me when you know you got a woman?"_

Today, I decided to walk through town on my way home. It was the perfect time to grab groceries since tomorrow we were going to the Barrens. I took out my list and saw that I only had to grab meat today, so I biked down to the Quality Meats store. Once I got there, I propped up my bike and walked into the store. I went up to the counter and showed the man my list. He told me that the new, fresher meat would be here shortly as soon as 'Mike' got here. Mike? I don't know Mike but maybe I just never had a class with him. I stood there for a bit until the man instructed me to check the alley next to the store to see if Mike was there. I walked out of the store and saw Belch's car. My heart jumped as I moved out of their view. 

"Stay the fuck out of my town!" Henry yelled as he put up his middle finger and threw a cigarette at the kid on the ground. As the drove off, I quickly ran to the kid.

"Are you okay?" I asked as I ran over. He looked at me like he had seen a ghost. "It's Mike right?" I asked as he shook his head yes. "I'm y/n, are you okay?" I asked with a slight smile. 

"Y-yeah I'm fine," he replied his breathing calming down. 

"Oh, good. Why have I never seen you before?" I asked helping him up. 

"I'm homeschooled," Mike said, grabbing his bike and the fallen meat. 

"Wow, you're so lucky," I said. 

"Not really. I don't have any friends," he replied sheepishly (haha get it sheepishly cause sheep and he works on a farm...ill see my way out)

"Don't worry. I'll be your friend." I say with a smile as he smiles back. I help him give the meat to the butcher and we walk in through the front to grab my stuff. I pay and wave to Mike as I leave. As I bike home, I realize a beautiful friendship would blossom from that.


	3. Doves In The Wind

> _"Sit back and relax your mind, just ride, just ride - Sit back and relax, you'll find just why, just why - Sit back, relax, just ease your mind, just ride..."_

y/n POV: 

I woke up early the next morning to get ready for the Barrens. How would I be able to keep my hair from getting wet? I stared at the mirror, touching my hair. Maybe I shouldn't use this anymore, I thought as I held up the straightener. Maybe its finally time to- no. Nobody has seen my natural hair, I wish to keep it that way. Even I wanted to, Derry is just like Alabama, closed-minded people who thing being racist, sexist, and homophobic are personality traits. I looked at my hair again, put the straightener down, and decided on two french braids that way if I did get wet, it wouldn't be too bad. I turned toward my closet and looked for something to wear. Something that I wouldn't mind getting wet or dirty, something that wasn't sentimental. BAM! My eyes settled on an ugly, 2 sizes to big, Hawaiian shirt decorated with rubber duckies with sunglasses. Richie and I had matching ones since we both bought them to mess with Eddie. Yeah, this was perfect. I settled on the Hawaiian shirt with the extra material tied at my waist with shorts and my black converses. I then went downstairs, grabbed breakfast, and sat out on the porch waiting for Eddie. He came out 30 minutes later and we biked to the Barrens side by side. 

~ time skip ~

The whole way to the Barrens, I tried convincing Eddie to confess to Richie. He kept shooting me down but I kept trying. 

"Come on Eddie! You never know if you try. He could be madly in love with you." I said. 

"Y/n! We've been over this! He doesn't like guys and he's not gay. You hear how much he talks about girls and how...sexy they are." Eddie replies as I roll my eyes. How oblivious could both of them be! I figured it out the day after Eddie came out to me. It all made sense the constant touching, nicknames, only making fun of him, etc. Really, Richie wasn't hiding it as well as he thought he was. Fortunately, I wasn't only in this. I could tell Stan knew and vice versa. The only oblivious one, besides Richie and Eddie, was Bill but he'll figure it out eventually. 

"All I'm saying is give it a shot," I stated as the other losers came into view. 

"I don't know," Eddie replied, looking toward me. 

"I'll talk to him okay? Then we can find out for sure." I smiled as I dropped my bike. 

"I guess," Eddie replied, putting down his kickstand and smiling at the thought. We both started walking toward the other losers when we heard Stan.

"That's poison ivy. And that's poison ivy. And that's poison ivy." Stan said as he pointing at various plants. 

"Where? Where's the poison ivy?" Eddie replied, running towards Stan carefully.

"Nowhere," I replied rolling my eyes. "Not every fucking plant is poison ivy, Stan." walking toward the entrance of the sewer. 

"Okay, well I'm starting to get itchy now and I'm pretty sure this isn't good for my-" Eddie started, scratching his arm. 

"Do you use the same bathroom as your mother?" Richie interrupted, turning towards him. 

"Sometimes, yeah," Eddie replied, carefully as he didn't know where was this was going.

"Then you probably have crabs," Richie stated, with that signature shit-eating grin that was reserved for only Eddie. I snickered as Eddie shot me a glare. 

"That's so not funny," Eddie replied. I rolled my eyes and started to go into the sewer when someone pulled me back. I turned and saw Eddie have a grip on my wrist. I looked at him confused when Richie turned around. 

"Aren't you guys coming in?" Richie asks, as I nodded wondering the same thing. 

"Uh-uh. It's greywater." Eddie replied, too the both of us. 

"What the hell's greywater?" I asked. 

"It's basically piss and shit. So I'm just telling you, you guys are splashing around in millions of gallons if Derry pee." Eddie replies, in a matter of factly way. I rolled my eyes for like the fifth time today as Richie picks up a stick and starts to sniff it.

"Are you-" I started. 

"Are you serious? What are you...?" Eddie interrupted. 

"Doesn't smell like caca to me señor," Richie replies, in a Spanish accent. 

"Okay, I can smell that from here," Eddie stated, looking disgusted. 

"It's probably just your breath wafting back into your face." Richie sneered. 

"Have you ever heard of a staph infection?" Eddie scoffed. 

"Oh, I'll show you a staph infection." Richie shot back, with a flirty flare.

"Okay stop it you two. " Stan interrupted before it went too far. They could be like this for hours making me wanna slam their faces together so that a kiss could cut this sexual tension. 

"Yeah, lovebirds I can only take so much of this," I replied, causing Richie to blush and Eddie to glare at me. I looked over at Stan who mouthed, 'good job', to me. Not sure if he was referring to the obvious sexual tension or getting them to shut up. Probably the latter since Stan seems like he could care less.

"This is so unsanitary. You're literally..." Eddie started, still glaring at me but clearly trying to change the subject. "Have you ever heard of Listeria?" Eddie continues, as Richie picks up a trash bag with the stick. He grins deviously, then throws the bag at Eddie's feet. 

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Eddie screams, of course. "You're the reason why we're in this position right now!" He looked conflicted about whether or not he wanted to go into the sewer to strangle Richie or stay right where he was. He never got the chance to make a choice when Bill turned around. 

"Guy!" Bill yelled, showing us a shoe in his hand. 

"Shit. Don't tell me that's-" I started. I could only assume that was Georgie's. 

"No. Georgie wore galoshes," Bill stated, easing the tension. 

"Whose sneaker is it?" Stan askes, as Bill shines his flashlight over the shoe. 

"It's Betty Ripsom's," Richie replies. 

"Oh, shit. Oh, God. Oh, fuck!" Eddie screams, freaking out. "I don't like this."

"How do you think Betty feels? Running around these tunnels with only one frickin' shoe?" Richie remarks, lifting his foot with amusement. He starts to laugh but looks around to see no one is laughing. He looks at me and I shake my head, looking at him with a look saying 'its not the time.' 

"What if she's still here?" Stan asks, nodding my head in agreement. Bill and Richie walk further into the tunnel. I try to follow again, but Eddie still has his hand around my wrist.

"Eddie, come on!" I say, trying to pull my arm away.

"My mom will have an aneurysm, okay? If she finds out we're playing down here." Eddie replies. "I'm serious. Bill?" he asks trying to get some agreement. 

"If...If I was Betty Ripsom, I would want us to find me. Georgie too." Bill says. 

"What if I don't want to find them? I mean, no offense, Bill, but I don't want to end up like Ge-" Eddie starts. I look at him, hoping he changes the sentence. We all know that Georgie is most likely dead. But nobody has brought that up to Bill yet. "I don't want to go missing, either." he finishes. 

"He has a point," Stan replies.

"You too?" Bill asks, shocked. I was shocked as well seeing as Stanley always does what Bill wants. 

"It's summer! We're supposed to be having fun! This isn't fun. This is scary and disgusting." Stan protests. Bill looks at me next, to see my answer. I honestly feel stuck in the middle. But, before I could say anything, I hear splashing water behind us. It's a kid, the new kid. I have English with him though I never talked to him. 

"Holy shit. What happened to you?" Richie yelled. 

    

    

    

    

* * *

> _"We take things, and my influence so far, and then it's out of my hands - And, you know, while as I said it can be scary, it can also be a little bit comforting"_

We got the new kid, or "Ben" on Eddie's bike, and rode into town. Eddie was a nervous wreck as he talked the whole ride.

"I think it's great that we're helping the new kid, but we also need to think of our own safety. I mean, he's bleeding all over and you guys do know that there's an AIDS epidemic happening right now as we speak, right? " Eddie rambled as if Ben wasn't right there and couldn't hear everything he was saying. "My mom's friend in New York City got it by touching a dirty pole on the subway. And a drop of AIDS blood got into his system through a hangnail. A hangnail!" Eddie continued. We pulled into the ally a block from Keene's Pharmacy and set Ben down on a wooden box. "You guys do know that alleys are known for dirty needles that have AIDS, right? You guys know that? Hey-" Eddie finished. 

"Ah, we're screwed. Richie, wait here. Come on." Bill said, motioning for us to follow. We ran into the pharmacy looking for supplies. Eddie grabs a whole shelf full of things making Bill's eye widen. "Can we afford all that?" he asks. We all take out money and altogether we have about $2.50 and a button that looks like a penny. 

"You're kidding me, right?" I sigh. 

"Wait, you have an account here, don't you?" Bill asks. 

"If his mom finds out he brought all this stuff-" I started. 

"I'm spending the whole rest of the weekend in the emergency room getting X-rayed." Eddie finishes, as I nod along in agreement. As we all decide what to do a girl appears in the aisle. Beverly Marsh. She's the only person Gretta teases more than me. I look at her confused as she's hiding something behind her back.

"You okay?" I ask.

"I'm fine. What's wrong with you?" Beverly replies. 

"None of your business." Stan buts in before I can say anything. We all look at each other, deciding if we should say anything or not. 

"There's a kid outside." Eddie caves. "Looked like someone killed him." he finishes. 

"We need some supplies, but we don't have enough money," Bill explains. Beverly than looks at us, then at Mr. Keene than at me. She walks toward me, grabs my arm, and we walk over to the counter. She puts her box of tampons down and starts to flirt with Mr.Keene. 

"I like your glasses, Mr.Keene. You look just like Clark Kent," she says, in a sweet voice. 

"Oh. I don't know about that." Mr.Keene replies, clearly flustered. Pedophile. 

"Can I try them?" Beverly asks. 

"Mmm. Sure," he responds, handing over the glasses. Beverly takes the glasses and puts them on. 

"What do you think?" Beverly asks, turning to me. She flutters her eyes seductively and I feel like she's staring into my soul. My heart starts to beat heavily and I feel like Eddie during an asthma attack. 

"You....you look just like...erm...Lois Lane!" I stuttered out. Great, I've been hanging around Bill too much and now I'm stuttering. 

"Really?" She replies, turning to Mr. Keene to see what he thinks. 

"Mmmmm." Mr. Keene says, smiling while checking out both me and Beverly. And the pedophile of the year award goes too...

"Well, here you go," Beverly states, handing back the glasses. But, doing so, she knocks over a display stan. "Shoot. I'm so sorry." she sighs.

"Oh, it's okay." Mr. Keene answers as he grabs his glasses and bends down to pick up the stuff. Beverly and I turn around, motioning the boys to run out. As they run out, Bev snags a pack of cigarettes while I grab a pack of candy. Beverly then pays for stuff minus the cigarettes and we walk out the store. 

"Wow, that was amazing!" I exclaim as we walked out of the store. 

"Oh, it was nothing." She replied. "You do what you gotta do."

"Well, thanks anyway, Beverly," I say.

"Call me Bev," Beverly-er I mean Bev states. 

"Okay, Bev, then you can call me n/n." I declare. 

"Wow, your nickname is just a pretty as you are," Bev replies, making the butterflies in my stomach come back and my cheeks warm back up. What is this feeling? Why do I feel all warm and fuzzy? Why do I wanna throw up but skip around in daises at the same time? I go to respond to her but look up to see Bill staring at Bev like she was one of those playboy models. All of my emotions die down and turn into jealousy. Wait...jealousy? Why am I jealous?

"Um, thanks." Bill says, holding his dollar bill. 

"Even-steven," Bev responds, winking and showing her box of cigarettes making me remember the candy in my pocket. I look toward the alley and see Richie and Eddie working on trying to fix up Ben. Stan is standing beside them but looks very annoyed at...Bill? Hmmm. He notices me looking, blushes, and looks at Ben. 

"Oh, God, he's bleeding," Stan states, looking disgusted. "Oh, my God!"

"Ben from soc?" Bev asks walking over to the alley. 

"You have to suck the wound before you apply the band-aids. This is 101." Richie says, acting as he knows how to do this better than the actual hypochondriac. 

"Richie, you don't know what you're talking about," I reply, rolling my eyes as I walk toward Richie. I take out the candy and offer him some. He takes a big handful, making me elbow him.

"Are you okay? That looks like it hurts." Bev asks, walking toward Ben. 

"Oh. No, I'm good. I just... fell." Ben replies sheepishly.

"Yeah. Right into Henry Bowers." Richie remarks. 

"Shut it, Richie," Bill utters.

"Why? It's the truth." I look at Richie, confused and he rolls his eyes. I hate to say it but Richie was right. What was so wrong about mentioning Bowers? We all know he's an asshole and basically the stereotypical Derry person if they were on steroids. 

"You sure they got the right stuff to fix you up?" Bev inquires, in a teasing tone. It's obviously an inside joke, from the way they're both smiling, that I wished I was apart of. 

"You know, we'll take care of him. Uh, thanks again, Beverly." Bill states, in a reassuring tone. 

"Sure. Maybe I'll see you around." Bev replies, smiling. 

"Yeah, we were thinking about going to the quarry tomorrow, if you wanna come," Bill asks, surprising me. I assumed we were going to do more stuff revolving around finding Georgie and maybe somewhere without water. Maybe I can find a way to get out of it. 

"Good to know. Thanks." Bev answers, nodding at the thought. She then waves at Ben, making him blush, and walks away. I feel the jealously coming back but try to avoid it by eating more candy. 

"Nice going bringing up Bowers in front of her." Stan snaps at Richie. 

"Yeah, dude, you heard what she did," Eddie replied, confusing the heck out of me. I'd been here for about a year and only knew that Gretta liked to pick on her. 

"What'd she do?" I asked as Ben nodded in agreement with me. 

"More like, 'Who'd she do?' From what I hear, the list is longer than my wang." Richie replies, grabbing his junk 

"That's not saying much," Stan mumbles, making me laugh. 

"So, about two people on the list, right Richie?" I sneer, making Stan laugh with me. 

"Shut it," Richie states, grabbing the rest of the candy, making me pout. 

"They're just r-ru-rumors," Bill said, quickly. 

"Anyway, Bill had her back in third grade. They kissed in the school play. The reviews said you can't fake that sort of passion." Richie adds. He got to kiss Bev? Lucky! Wait...I mean...erm. I try to distract myself but glancing over at Stan who looks like he's disgusted at the memory. Imma take note of that. "Now, pip-pip and tally-ho, my good fellows, I do believe this chap requires our utmost attention." Richie continues in a terrible British accent, pushing Eddie forward toward Ben. "Get in there, Dr. K. Come on, fix him up." Richie encouraged. 

"Why don't you shut the fuck up, Einstein, because I know what I'm doing, and I don't want you doing the British guy with me right now," Eddie replied, rolling his eyes but blushing. 

"Suck the wound. Get in there!" Richie shouts, making me laugh at the situation while Stan shook his head in disappointment.


	4. Drew Barrymore

> _And she's perfect and I hate it, oh so glad you made it-"_

y/n POV: 

I got to the quarry early the next morning. Usually, I would wait for Eddie but he could ride with Richie today. I needed to think about all the problems I had in my hands. For starters, how the heck was I suppose to get Eddie and Richie together. Senior year was next year and I can't deal with their sexual tension for another year. Also, why was Stan always looking at Bill? Did he like him or just wanted to get closer to him? Another thing, why was I getting butterflies with Bev. I like guys, I know this for a fact. ~~Maybe I'm bi?~~ No. I'll think about that another time. I need to deal with the most current problem, my hair. Why would I agree to this? Actually, I didn't agree with this. I don't have to be here. But, why wouldn't I be here? Maybe, I could say I'm on my period. But, then Bev would give me a tampon.

"Ugh!" I yelled.

"You alright?" Stan asked, causing me to jump. He propped his bike next to a tree and started walking over to me. 

"Sorry, I thought I was alone. I didn't realize anybody would be here this soon." I replied, sitting down. 

"Me either, I was trying to get some peace and quiet before the couple comes," Stan stated, plopping next to me, making me laugh. 

"Yeah, I feel you. Their sexual tension gives me headaches." I responded.

"Oh absolutely. We all know they like each other. I just which they would get together already." Stan sighed. 

"Yeah, I know I mean how oblivious can Bill be? We all know you like him." I replied, causing a gasp from Stan. 

"I-I wasn't- I don't know what you're talking about." Stan stuttered out making me laugh. 

"Don't worry I'm pretty sure I'm the only one who noticed. Your secret's safe with me." I said. 

"No, y/n, you have it all wrong. Bill's like a brother to me, I'm- he's- neither of us is...gay." Stan responded, whispering at the end. I looked at him unfazed but he looked at me with a stern look. 

"Fine, I'll drop it maybe I was wrong," I replied, causing Stan to sigh in relief. "But, if I'm right, you have to promise you'll tell me okay? You'll know I will always be here for you." I finished, sweetly.

"I-" Stan started to say but was interrupted by bickering. "Here, come the soon to be couple." Stan sighed, preparing me for the headache. 

"Y/n, I can't believe you let me ride with him here! This jerk has burped the alphabet forwards and backward five times in a row!" Eddie yelled. 

"I can go for round six if you want, just give me a sec," Richie replied, causing Stan to roll his eyes. I wonder if both Stan and my eyes will roll out of our socket from how much we roll them around these two. 

"Omg, can you shut the fuck up! Richie, you are so insufferable! People in China are already sick of you!" Eddie yelled, looking he was about to start a rant. 

"Awww, you're so cute! Cute! Cute! Cute!" Richie replied, squeezing Eddie's cheeks, making him blush. I feel another headache coming.

~slight time skip~

Once Bill and Ben came, all the boys stripped to their underwear and were playing 'loogie'. Not my cup of tea. I waited in the shade for them hoping they would all jump and forget I was here. Maybe then I could sneak anyway without being noticed. 

"Hey!" someone whispered behind me, making me jump for the second time that day. I turned to see Bev behind me in a white bra and blue underwear. It took all my energy not to look anywhere but her face. Her hair was shorter than yesterday. It suited her. 

"H-hi! I didn't think you would get here so soon. I like your hair." I replied. 

"Oh, thanks," Bev said, touching her hair gently. "Why haven't you changed yet?" she asked, gesturing to my clothes. 

"Oh! I don't-I don't think I should swim you know..." I said, pointing to my hair. I'm not sure if she got the memo but she convinced me to at least change so I could tan. Tan? For what? But the logical part of my brain wasn't working since all I cared about was what Bev wanted me to do. Once I changed, I look over to Richie and Eddie arguing over the best loogie. 

"Who's first?" Bill asked, looking out at the water clearly trying to desperately change the subject. The boys all looked at each other, not wanting to go first. 

"We'll go!" Bev stated, making her presence known. She then grabbed my hand and ran straight for the water. I tried to stop but then she jumped with her hand still around my wrist, meaning I went straight with her. Hitting the water was an experience that I would never forget. It felt like all my worries were washed (ha cause water... yeah I know the door) away. The thought of my hair never appeared in my mind. 

"What the fuck!" I hear Richie exclaim. "Aw, holy shit! We just got showed up by two girls!

I laugh with Bev as the boys talk among themselves. 

"Come on!" Bev yells so that they can hear. One by one the boys jump into the water with us. We all decided on playing chicken with Eddie on Richie and Bev on Ben. 

"I already won! We already won!" Richie yells as Eddie almost pushes Bev off. Soon, she falls with a yelp. "They're down!" Richie yells, spinning Eddie triumphantly. We all splash around, playing multiple games of chicken, macro polo, who can hold there breath the longest (we stopped after Richie almost passed out from staying under too long), etc. We even found a turtle after it hit Richie's foot making him scream and jump in Eddie's arms which made Eddie fall into the water. I couldn't stop dying from laughter from that.

Soon though, we swam over to a nearby rock, put on music, and laid in the sun. Well, Bev laid in the sun. I was trying my hardest to listen to Eddie's conversation and not stare at her but failed. I wasn't the only one though. Ben and Bill acted as they had never seen a girl like that before which considering these losers, they probably hadn't. Richie was looking at Bev but then turned to Eddie who was facing me. Richie's eyes caught mine, making him widen them as big as saucers. He blushed and then turned back to Bev but kept sneaking glances at Eddie. Eddie was telling me about something and Stan was looking at a bird. Typical Stan. Bev turned over when the song ended making Bill, Ben, and Richie turn away and try but fail to act natural. Richie looked for something to occupy him and unfortunately, his eyes were on Ben's bag. 

"News flash, Ben. School's out for the summer!" Richie says in a bad impression of a radio announcer's voice, as he grabs Ben's bag. 

"Oh, that? That's not school stuff." Ben replied, hoping Richie would drop it. Boy was he wrong. Whenever Richie got his eyes, hands, or attention on anything he would never let go till something else caught his eye. The only exception to this was his ~~crush~~ , scratch that his love for Eddie. From what Stan told me, Richie loved Eddie officially since the 7th grade. 

"Oo la la! Who sent you this?" Richie asks, flashing his eyelashes as he held up a postcard. 

"No one! Give it." Ben said quickly, as he grabbed the postcard. "No one."

"What's with the history project?" Richie questioned, grabbing a book from his bag. 

"Oh. Well, when I first moved here, I didn't really have anyone to hang out with, so I just started spending time in the library." Ben answered as Richie handed the book to Bill.

"You went to the library? On purpose?" Richie asked like he couldn't believe what he was hearing. 

"Not everyone has to be forced to study or learn, Richie," I responded, rolling my eyes. 

"What's the Black Spot?" Stan asks, showing me a picture of a burned club. 

"The Black Spot was a nightclub that was burned down years ago by that racist cult," Eddie stated, making me shiver. I would put money down that Henry's dad was apart of it. He seems like he would with the kid he's got.

"The what?" Stan asked again. 

"Don't you watch Geraldo?" Eddie replies as if anyone under the age of 30 would even watch him. 

"Your-your-your hair..." Bill says, staring at Bev. Hair... Hair? Hair! My hair! It's wet. I frantically look for a hair tie as Ben tells Bev how beautiful her hair is. Unfortunately, I don't have one. Not wanting to take away Bev's thunder, I nudged Eddie. Maybe he would have a rubber band of some sort. Maybe a ribbon.

"Eddie, do you have anything I could use for a hair tie?" I whispered.

"Why would you need a hair-" Eddie said, clearly annoyed until he looked at my hair. Oh no. "Hair-hair. Omg! Your hair!" Eddie said, getting everyone's attention.

"Your hair is beautiful!" Bev said, making my cheeks warm up.

"It's like a cloud," Bill says, as he gets up and tries to touch it. I shoot him a death glare, making him wince but allowed him to touch. I feel like a fucking petting zoo. 

"Why don't you ever have it out?" Ben asks as Eddie nods in agreement. 

"Well- I-" I start. Oh jeez. I don't wanna tell them I'm embarrassed by it but I don't want them to know I got teased for it. "It's just a lot to manage." is what I go with. Stan looks over at me, knowing I'm clearly lying but doesn't say anything. "Don't worry, it'll be straight and back to normal tomorrow," I say smiling. 

"Boo! I like it out. Nobody likes anything straight." Richie says, rolling his eyes. He then starts to list all the 'straight things' he hates. "Straight A's, straight hair, straight peo-" Richie starts but pauses. "Straight hair..." He continues but quieter. I definitely have to talk about that with him later.

"Why is it all murders and missing kids?" Stan asks as Richie looks grateful that no one (or so he thought) heard what he said. 

"Derry's not like any town I've ever been in before." Ben answers. 

"You got that right," I comment. It's basically Montgomery 2.0 but with more pedos this time.

"They did a study once, and it turns out people die or disappear six times the national average," Ben replies, making us all alarmed.

"You read that?" Bev questions, as I nod in agreement. 

"And that's just grown-ups. Kids are worse. Way, way worse." Ben answers. I look over at Stan who looks like he's about to throw up and I don't blame him. "I've got more stuff if you wanna see it?" Ben asks, looking around the group for an answer. 

"No, no," Eddie whispers, shaking his head no. He gets ignored as we all start to head over to Ben's house to find out more about this fucked up incident. (if you know what song that's from I love ya)

* * *

> _"I get so lonely, I forget what I'm worth-"_

The ride to Ben's house was pretty...eventful. For starters, Richie is just as dense as Eddie. I asked what the whole straight thing was about and he claimed that he "had no idea what I was talking about", then proceeded to ride faster. Bullshit. Also, Bev invited me over tonight making me wanna ride around the whole neighborhood with my hands up. When we got to Ben's house, he went in first, seeming to rush to hide something. 

"Cool, huh?" Ben said as we all stepped into his room. His walls were covered with articles and pictures while his desk seemed to have every history book the library had. 

"No. No, nothing cool. There's nothing cool." Richie replied, sharply. "Oh, this is cool, right here. Wait, no. No, it's not cool." he continued, looking at the picture on the wall. 

"What's that?" I asked, pointing to a piece of paper. 

"Oh, that? That's the charter for Derry Township." Ben answered cheerfully. He looked extremely happy that someone was interested.

"Nerd alert!" Richie responded, earning a smack on the arm from Eddie.

"No, actually, it's really interesting. Derry started out as a beaver trapping camp." Ben remarked. 

"Still is, am I right?" Richie replies as he raised his hand and looked around for agreement. Stan shakes his head in disappointment while Eddie merely looks at him. Richie looks over at me as I roll my eyes. 

"Ninety-one people signed the charter that made Derry. But later that winter, they all disappeared without a trace." Ben continued. 

"The entire camp?" I asked, looking puzzled. 

"There were rumors of Native Americans, but no sign of an attack. Everybody just thought it was a plague or something. But it's like one day everybody just woke up and left. The only clue was a trail of bloody clothes leading to the Well house." Ben answered, sending a shiver down my spine.

"Jesus. We can get Derry on Unsolved Mysteries." Richie replied as I nodded in agreement. 

"That's a great idea. Let's do that." I state. 

"Yeah, you're brilliant," Eddie adds, making Richie blush slightly. 

"Heh, yeah I might be," Richie replied. 

"Where was the Well House?" Bill asked as Ben's bedroom door creaked. 

"I don't know. Somewhere in town, I guess. Why?" Ben responded. 

"Nothing," Bill answered, quickly. Weird. 

* * *

> _"Do you really love me - Or just wanna love me down, down, down, down? - "_

After Ben's house, Bev and I biked to my house. We went straight to my room to get some extra clothes. I also left a note telling my mom I would be staying at a friend's house and we quickly rode to her place. Being with Bev alone is like a breath of fresh air...sorta. I felt like I was running through daises...but on fire. Everything she did made me smile and confused at the same time. But, I still liked being around her. When we got there, though everything changed. She went in first, looking around frantically but then calming down. She motioned me to come in, so I followed suit. As I came in, I saw her dad sleep with a baseball game on in the background. She ushered me into her room, closing the door behind her. We sat on her bed and talked for a bit when I remembered the straightener. So, we went to go to her bathroom. What I didn't realize was that Bev stopped as she found a postcard in her room. I was in the bathroom by myself for a bit searching for the straightener when Bev came in, locking the bathroom door. She hands me the straightener from under the counter and goes to sit on the bathtub as I section my hair into four sections. 

"Your hair is winter fire...January embers...My heart burns there, too." Bev reads, holding a postcard to her chest.

"Who's that from?" I ask, finishing up the first section. 

"I- I'm not sure. I think, well I hope Bill." Bev responds, making me grip the straightener tighter in the second section. Bill. Of course, she likes Bill. It's not that I care, cause I don't. Well, maybe a little... No, I- wait what's that smell? I looked in the mirror and I realized I burn part of the second section of my hair. 

"Omg! Are you okay?" Bev asks, standing up quickly to assess the damage. 

"Yeah, I'm fine I just need to-" I start. 

"Beverly. y/n." a female voice interrupts. 

"-be more careful." I finish looking at Bev and putting down the straightener.

"Help me. Help me, please." the voice continues. "We all want to meet you, Beverly. We all float down here, y/n," the voice says, not accompanied by two more voices; another female and a male voice.

"Who are you?" Bev asks, peering into the drain slightly.

"I'm Veronica." the first voice speaks. 

"Betty Ripsom." the second one says, causing Bev to look at me. 

"Patrick Hockstetter," The third and final voice says, causing me to look at Bev in shock. Patrick Hockstetter? Like Patrick from Henry goons? Like Creepy Patrick that licks his lips at Richie and Eddie?

"Come closer," Veronica remarks. 

"Wanna see?" Betty entices. 

"We float." Veronica continues. 

"We change." Patrick taunts, his voice sounding like it went through a meat grinder. Bev quickly goes into the living, coming back with a tape measure. She lowers it into the drain until it rattles and someone giggles. Bev tries to put it further, but it won't go. As she pulls it back up, the bottom half of the tape measure is covered in blood with Bev's bloody hair at the bottom. We both look at each other trying to figure out what was going on. Suddenly, a piece of Bev's bloody hair wraps around her wrist. I tried to get it off of her but another piece wraps around my wrists tying mine together. Then multiple pieces of her hair wrap around Bev's other wrist, her body, and my body. Soon, we're getting pulled forward, closer to the drain as we both screamed our heads off. Blood starts to ooze out the drain as tears start to run down my cheeks. Next, though, the blood shoots out like a fountain right into our faces, all over the bathroom, the straightener and on the postcard from Bev's secret admirer. Bev jumps away from the sink, scooting over to the bathtub covered screaming. I fell on knees, in front of the sink holding my face and hair while whimpering and shaking. 

"What the hell's going on?" Bev's dad yells as he throws the door open. 

"Th-Th-The sink..." I start, shaking and stuttering. 

"And the blood... It's..." Bev finishes, glancing at her dad. 

"What blood?" Her dad asks, looking at us like we were crazy. 

"The sink. You don't see it?" Bev stammers out.

"There was blood," I muttered out, rocking myself back and forth in place. 

"You worry me, Bevvie." Bev's dad answers as he walks closer to Bev. "So does your friend." He finishes, looking over at me with a very disturbed facial expression. 

"But don't you see?" I ask, looking back at him. 

"Why'd you do this to your hair?" Bev's dad questions, ignoring me altogether. "Makes you look like a boy." He concludes, touching her hair and walking out. Bev starts to sob heavily, as I just stare at my hands. I'm not crazy. Bev sees it too. Maybe we're both crazy?

    

    

    


	5. Prom

> _"Fearin' not growin' up - Keepin' me up at night - Am I doin' enough? - Feel like I'm wastin' time..."_

We ended up walking to my house at 10'oclock at night to wash ourselves off. I felt like I was a zombie, wandering the empty streets of Derry. I was shaking the whole way to my house. I'm not sure if it was because of what happened or because I was a 17-year-old black girl walking in the dark. Thankfully, my mom was asleep when we walked in. I hurried Bev to the downstairs bathroom near the washer and dryer. I let her take a shower first as I washed both of our clothes. That wasn't real it couldn't have been real. Right? Blood doesn't just shoot out of the drain. Maybe they had bad pipes? But what about the voices? What could've-

"Are you okay?" Bev asked, making me jump. 

"Yeah, I- 'm fine," I say, grabbing my towel and going into the bathroom. Thankfully, there was still some warm water left as I had to take a 10-minute shower to get the blood out and calm myself down. I grabbed my towel, wrapped it around me, and left the bathroom. Bev was putting the clothes in the dryer but turned as she saw me step out. I didn't say anything, just sat down next to her and stared at the dryer. Suddenly, I felt arms around me, Bev's, pulling me into a hug, I hugged her back and didn't stop. Til I realized that we were both basically naked and she was hugging me. I pulled back and looked at her, again she was staring deeply into my soul. I don't know what came over me but I kissed her. Yeah, I kissed her. I pulled back slowly and looked at her. She was shocked, but not as a bad shock, I think. 

"I- Why did you do that?" She asked. I had no answer. I did like her. I wanted to kiss her since the first day I met her. But, this was too soon. I just officially talked to her yesterday. Despite seeing her in class all the time, I was moving too fast. I should've waited. I- "Y/n?" she asks again, quietly. Oh shit. I never answered the question. 

"I-" I stammered.

"DING!" The dryer sounded. I averted my eyes from her and went to grab the clothes. I handed Bev her clothes as she went into the bathroom to change. How could be so stupid? I'm neither Snow White, Cinderella, or Sleeping Beauty. I can't just marry, or in this case kiss, a person I just met. But you didn't just meet her, you've known her since your first year? True but we didn't talk. Ugh! 

My thoughts were interrupted by the creaking of the bathroom door. Bev stepped out, looking at me but I refused to meet her eyes. I started walking up the stairs with her following suit. We walked back to her place in silence. Seriously, y/n? What were you thinking? Not only am I a girl but I'm a black girl, crushing on a white girl who has two or more boys crushing on her. When we reached her place, I turned to leave. Of course, that would mean walking home in the dark but it was okay. But, of course, nothing would ever go my way as I felt Bev's hand grab my wrist, turning me around. What is it with people grabbing my wrists?

"Where are you going?" Bev asks, trying to look into my eyes. 

"I-I'm going home." I respond, still looking everywhere but her. 

"Why? It's late and anything could happen to you! You're staying here. I insist." She replies, pulling me into her apartment. Her dad is still asleep, as we pass him and go into her room. She closes the door behind her as I sit on her bed. 

"Why did you kiss me?" Bev asks, sitting on the ground in front of me. 

"I-" I start, looking everywhere but her face. I caved in though, after a few minutes. Bad idea. She looks hurt but intrigued. Weird. "I like you, I guess." I finished closing my eyes and clenching my fists. 

"You guess?" She questions, as I open my eyes back up. 

"I- I do like you..." I stammer out. 

"So, you're a lesbian?" Bev asks, quietly like more to herself than me. 

"No! I like boys!" I whisper shouted at her. 

"So, you're just experimenting?" Bev questions. 

"Yes. No. I don't know..." I answer. I rather have this talk with Eddie but I guess that'll have to be later.

"So, you like boys and girls?" Bev asks as I nod my head. "So you're bi?" She finishes. I again nod as she looks deep in thought. What happens next is what I could've never expected. Bev grabs my cheeks and kisses me. I start to kiss back but she pulls back. I look at her confused. I'm getting mixed signals here. Does she like me or not?

"What- What was that for?" I question, as now Bev is the one refusing to meet my eyes. 

"I- I was trying to see if I was...I'm not gay, y/n." She finally answers as I feel my walls crashing down. "But, thank you for telling me. I'm straight but...but I'll always support you okay?" She replies, going to hug me. I lean it, accepting the hug. She leans back after a few minutes and goes to her dresser. She comes back with a pair of blue silk PJs with a short-sleeved shirt and shorts & a pair of f/c (favorite color) silk PJs. She sets the blue silk set on the bed while she grabs the f/c silk shirt and puts it on her desk. She looks in her desk drawer and pulls out a white string and a needle (choose grey or black if your favorite color is white). Bev starts to sew something on the pouch in the front very gently. After a few minutes, she turns to me and hands me the shirt. Bev then grabs the blue silk PJs and goes into the bathroom. I look at the pouch to see my initials on it. I put the PJ set on to find that it's almost a perfect fit. Looser in some places while tighter in other places. This had to be Bev's since it seems it would fit her like a glove. Bev comes back in the room, seeing the PJs on me. 

"Keep it." She says, with a smile. She climbs into her bed as I go to turn off the light. I went to go sleep on the floor, but Bev pulled me into the bed with her. I know she doesn't like me but it still feels like my emotions are being played with. 

* * *

> _"Please don't take it, don't take it personal - Like I know you usually do..."_

I woke up early to Bev on the phone with someone. 

"Yeah, you guys need to hurry over here." She said, hanging up the phone. "Oh, you're up. Take that bag to carry your PJs." Bev said, pointing a paper bag by her dresser. She then closed the door, giving me privacy. I quickly get dressed and put my clothes in the bag. I opened the door but Bev or her dad is nowhere to be found. I look at her stairs to see Bev sitting with a box of cigarettes and a lighter. 

"Hey. Where's your straightener?" I ask, causing her to chuckle.

"Still in the bathroom," Bev says as I sit down making me remember the memory. "I'll probably have to throw it away anyway." She finishes. That means day 2 of natural hair. Great. "Here, take this," Bev says, handing me a hair tie. I try to put my hair in a bun but it won't cooperate. This is my problem with my natural hair and why straight hair is better. Plus its easier and more socially acceptable. "Here, let me help," Bev responds, seeing me wanting to rip my hair out. She combs my hair with her fingers and puts it in a perfect bun or puff since my curls/coils don't want to cooperate today.

"Thanks," I say as Bev nods. She grabs a cigarette, lights it, and smokes. Bev then offers the box to be and I grab one, making her smile. With Eddie being my best friend, I have never had or been near a cigarette in my life, so I had no idea what to do with it. She lights the cigarette and I inhale it. Of course, I start to choke but after a bit, I start to get the hang of it. It wasn't good or bad, but calming. Maybe, I'll get Richie to try some of this. We stayed there like that till we heard Eddie and Stan arguing about the alleys and the side streets. Bev puts out her cigarette quickly, hands me the box and the lighter, and starts to run down the stairs. I follow suit as the losers start to get closer. 

"Okay, okay. Can you just tell me what she said exactly?" Eddie asks. 

"She didn't say anything. She just said that you guys need to hurry over." Stan replies as we reach the bottom of the steps. 

"You made it. I.. we need to show you something," Bev says, as I nod. Eddie looks at me funny, making me realize that the cigarette was still in my mouth while the box and lighter were in my hand. I put the box and lighter behind my back and threw the cigarette to the ground, putting it out with my foot. 

"What is it?" Ben questions. 

"More than we saw at the quarry?" Richie jokes, making me roll my eyes. 

"Shut up! Just shut up, Richie." Eddie yells, looking annoyed at Richie or me or this whole thing. Probably all of the above. 

"My dad will kill me if he finds out I had boys in the apartment," Bev replies, looking around as if her dad was going pull up out of nowhere. 

"Then just take y/n," Bill says as he was pointing out the obvious. 

"She's gonna need more than me," I answer as Bev nods in agreement with me. "Plus I have to stay out here. I think I'll actually throw up if I have to go back in there."

"Then we'll leave a lookout. Richie, stay here with y/n." Bill replies as the rest of the losers drop their bike following Bev up the steps. 

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! What if her dad comes back?" Richie shouts as I sit down in the grass.

"Do what you always do. Start talking." Stan responds, rolling his eyes as he follows the others up the stairs. 

"It is a gift," Richie says, in a slightly sad voice. He then sits by me as I light another cigarette trying to calm myself down after thinking about last night again. "Whoa! So were doing cigs now? Didn't know you were a bad girl now? And I like bad girls." Richie says, in a flirty tone. 

"Cut the shit, Rich. We all know you like Eddie." I say, rolling my eyes and leaving Richie in shock. 

"I- I don't like guys. Pshhh. Me? Ultimate Ladies man? Never!" Richie responds, obviously cut off guard. 

"Number 1, you're definitely far and I mean very far from being a ladies man. And number 2, I never said you did or didn't like guys. I said you liked Eddie." I state, putting out the cigarette I never got to start.

"No, I don't," Richie replied quickly, making me laugh. "See, I'll prove it to ya," Richie says, as he leans in and kisses me, catching me off guard. Three, I've had three kisses over the span of 2 days. Everyone say it with me now. WHAT. THE. FUCK. "I- I- See, I told ya. I like girls." Richie says as he pulls away. "See, I even liked it. But, I wish you were-" Richie starts, very quickly and quietly.

"Eddie, right." I deadpan, as Richie shakes his head. I grab my disregarded cigarette and re-lit it, smoking it again. I offer Richie one, and he takes it, lighting it like a pro. I look at him confused when he smokes it not even coughing. 

"It's not my first rodeo, cowgirl," Richie replies, bringing up my old and I thought forgotten nickname. "Being bisexual sucks." he finally says, after a while. 

"Tell me about it," I say, not realizing what I said until Richie starts coughing. Well, fuck me with a chainsaw. (If you know what musical this is from, I love ya)

* * *

> _"Promise to get a little - Better as I get older - And you're so patient - And sick of waitin'-"_

I tell Richie all about last night, him nodding throughout the story. It doesn't seem like he believes the bloody bathroom part though. Richie does though talk about my hair though, saying something about how I actually listen to him. I quickly told him that I didn't listen to him and that I couldn't get the straightener. I also told Richie to test the waters more with Eddie since they both like each other. Before he can say anything though, the rest of the losers come from Bev's apartment with trashbags probably full of paper towels and whatever else they used to clean it. Richie does look at me and nod his head. That's progress in my book. 

Once all the losers get out, we all grab our bikes. I put the bag in my little basket and start to ride down the road with Richie. The rest of the losers are walking next to their bikes, pushing them along the road. 

"Ya know, I love being your personal doorman, really. Could you idiots have taken any longer? Richie remarks. 

"Shut up, Richie," Eddie replies, rolling his eyes. 

"Yeah, shut up, Richie," Stan adds. 

"Oh, yeah trash the trash mouth. I get it." Richie answers as he rides around in a circle around us. "Hey, I wasn't the one scrubbing the bathroom floor, and imagining her sink went all Eddie's mom vagina on Halloween." Richie finishes. 

"She didn't imagine it," I mumble as all of us stop walking and riding. 

"I s-s-saw something, too." Bill stutters out, looking spooked. 

"You saw blood too?" Stan questions. 

"Not blood. I saw Georgie." Bill replies, making us all gasp. Georgie? But isn't he- "It seemed so real. I mean, it seemed like it was him, but there was this-" Bill starts.

"Clown." Eddie interrupts, as Bill looks at him. "Yeah, I saw him too." A pause goes by as we all think about the new information. Well, a short pause since nothing and no one can be allowed silence around trash mouth. 

"Wait, can only virgins see this stuff? Is that why I'm not seeing this shit?" Richie asks, making me hit my head with my hand. 

"We all know you're a virgin Richie so shut the fuck up," I answer.

"Wanna bet?" He sneers. 

"If you're gonna 'prove it to me'," I start making him blush at what he just did moments ago. "Then, hell no. Otherwise, I'll put down $20 for it." I finish. 

"Deal," Richie says, holding out his hand for me to shake, which I do. 

"Oh, shit that's Belch Huggins' car," Eddie says, pointing to his car off in the distance. "We should probably get out of here." Eddie finishes, as he hops on his bike.

"Wait, that's Mike's bike," I say, dropping my bike and running over toward it. 

"The homeschooled kid?" Bill questions, as Eddie nods confirming what I just said. 

"Come on guys. We have to help him." I shout, motioning them to follow. 

"We should?" Stan asks. 

"Yes!" I shout running down the path near the bike. Hold on Mike, help is on the way. 


	6. The Weekend

> _"You say you got a girl - Yeah, how you want me? - How you want me when you got a girl?"_

y/n POV: 

I ran to the end of the path on top of some large rocks. There was a stream separating me from Henry, his goons, and Mike. Suddenly, a rock was thrown at Henry's head, making him fall off of Mike. I look to see who threw it and of course, it was Bev. 

"Nice throw," I say as the rest of the losers came into view. 

"Thank," She replied, slightly out of breath. As Henry and his goons were distracted, Mike stumbles over toward us. I help him up as he gives me a sweet, soft smile. My cheeks warm up but I'm blaming that on the heat. 

"You losers are trying too hard. She'll do you. You just gotta ask nicely. Like I did." Henry taunts, motioning to Bev as he grabs his crotch. " And that one. She's a different breed in more ways than one. You gotta wait in line though. Don't worry, I'll be rough with her first. Get all the kinks out." He finishes, as he and his goons laughed. My cheeks start to heat up for a different reason this time, as someone growls behind me. Ben lets out a battle cry of some sort and throws another rock at Henry's head. Henry and his goons start to back up, looking at us like we were crazy. All of us bend down to grab rocks waiting for what would happen next.

"Rock war!" Richie shouts, as he gets hit in the face with a rock and starts the rock war. Everyone is throwing rocks trying not to get hit. I tried avoiding getting hit but I got hit in my bun. Apparently, Bev's hair tie wasn't as strong as I thought since it broke on impact. I jumped back up though still throwing rocks. Suddenly, I felt eyes on me and I turned to see Mike staring at me. His eyes widening when he met my eyes and then got hit it the mouth with a rock. Whoops. I didn't get hit anymore but some debris did scratch up the sides of my face. A cut right under my left eye (haha get it cause like TLC's left eye...nevermind), a cut on the bottom of my right cheek, and a few scratches on my hands. Belch and Victor retreated after a few moments, leaving Henry laying on the ground, glaring. We all dropped our rocks and started to walk away. 

"Go blow your dad you mullet-wearing asshole!" Richie yells, shooting both middle fingers at him before walking with us. We, and especially Richie, were gonna have to pay for that. We all walked through the other pathway, near the train tracks. 

"You guys shouldn't have done that, he'll be after you too now." 

"Oh no, Bowers? He's always after us." I reply, with a smile. 

"I guess that's on th-th-thing we all have in common." Bill stutters out. 

"Yeah homeschool, welcome to the losers club," Richie remarks, making Mike give me a weird look.

"Richie's name, not mine," I remark, making Mike laugh. Gosh, his laugh is like honey. 

"I- I your hair..." Mike starts, as the rest of the losers start their own conversation. 

"Yeah, I know it's not ideal. But I'll be home tonight so it'll be straight the next time you see it." I say, touching my hair. 

"No, no I like it natural. It suits you." Mike says, with his sweet smile.

"I-I- Thanks." I settle on, as my heart starts to beat in my chest."I'll keep that in mind." I say with a smile, as I tune into the other's conversation. Apparently, we agreed to hang out tomorrow and meet by the Capitol theater. I was so wrapped up in the conversation that I didn't even notice staring at me. 

* * *

> _"You like 9 to 5, I'm the weekend - Make him lose his mind every weekend"_

That night, as I was putting band-aids on my wounds, I kept thinking about Mike's words. I was in the bathroom, holding the straightener and looking in the mirror. I've been straightening my hair since 7th grade. I'm gonna be a senior next year, and I still straighten my hair. Look at all of this heat damage, I think looking at my hair. It goes all the way down to the middle of my back, but the heat damage starts at my shoulders. Maybe I should cut it off. I look at the straightener, memories of last night coming back. I can't keep straightening my hair. I'm tired of fixing myself for society. I'm already a loser and what did Stan say? Oh, yeah, and I always fucking will be. So, fuck it. I decide as I wrap up the straightener and throw it in the trash. I grab scissors from the cabinet and carefully cut off all the dead and damaged hair. Once finished, my long hair down my back is now shoulder length (yeah I gave her the bisexual haircut) but healthy. It's beautiful and it's different. Just like me. I grab all the cut hair and put it in the trash, trying to not repeat the incident at Bev's house. Once finished at here a knock at my window. It's probably Richie since he's the only one stupid enough to climb up the tree with branches that look like they're gonna snap any second. I go back into my room to see...Stan? I quickly open the window, letting Stan step in. 

"Stan? What the hell are you doing here? And through my window?" I ask as Stan starts pacing around my room. 

"You know, I keep thinking about what you said. And, there is a logical reason. There has to be a reason. I can't just become gay overnight. There would have to be a reason. Is it what you said clouding my mind from being rational or... No that couldn't be it." Stan rambles more to himself than me. I didn't want to interrupt so I just listen, braiding my hair up for the night like my mom would in 6th grade. "Maybe I can reverse this. Yeah, I just need a very heterosexual solution to this. Oh, I'll get a girlfriend? Bev? No, Ben and Bill are already head over heels for her. Oh, you. I'll just date you. Yeah, that'll-" Stan starts. 

"What are you doing?" I interrupt, making Stan stop talking and look at me. 

"I was asking you to date me so I can reverse this," Stan says, realizing his words as they came out. (ha get it, cause like almost everybody here is gay?)

"Stan, you can't reverse being gay. It's just who you are." I say, walking over to Stan. 

"But, but- I- this isn't me. I'm not gay, you just put thoughts in my head, making me think your wants and desires were mines." Stan mutters.

"Stan, I wasn't the one staring at Bill's ass during gym," I reply, making his eyes widen. 

"I- I don't wanna change. I like who I already am." Stan remarks, sitting down on my floor, with his hands covering his face. 

"Stan, being gay won't change you. Believe me, I know. You're still going to be the same ole Stan that we know and love, just happier. It's a good experience, knowing your identity." I spoke, slowly removing Stan's hands so that he can look at me. "And believe me, there will be days when you think you're lying to yourself. And want to go back to what you've always known. But, then you'll remember how good it feels to be in your identity. And, if you want, you don't even have to label yourself. But no matter what, you're Stanley Uris and you'll always fucking will be." I finish with a smile. Stan looked at me with a slight smile for the last part, giving me a side hug that I turned into a bear hug. 

"Thanks, y/n," Stan replied. 

"Hey, that's what I'm here for," I remark, making his laugh a little. I end up telling Stan my experience with Bev and my hair. He listened and gave input when needed. Even told me he liked the new hair. We talked for what seemed like hours when Stan had to leave, this time through the back door.

For once, in my life, I actually felt complete in myself. I haven't felt this happy since before Dad pasted. It seemed like all the problems in my life were finally being erased. Unfortunately, I had no idea what was yet to come. 


	7. Go Gina

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ahhh sorry i haven't been here in almost a week. online school is kicking my ass and I'm pretty sure the psats worsened my mild depression. but I'm back, still black, and ready to write as much as my creativity lasts (:

> _"I mean, really it's same me, it's old me - You know? same shit -"_

y/n POV: 

Waking up was the weirdest feeling ever. I had a dream about Mike though it wasn't like the dreams I've had about Bev. "Bev" dreams had me waking up blushing and wanting to douse myself in warm water while "Mike" dreams still made me blush with fuzzy feelings. Let's just say most Bev dreams were less PG-13 and more R if ya know what I mean. Anyways, I got myself together and waited outside for Eddie to come out. Seconds past, then minutes, and maybe hours. Nothing. I thought about knocking on the door but ended up deciding against it. I rode up to the Capitol theater where the annual Derry Parade was happening. All the losers, minus Eddie and Richie, were surrounded around a poster. 

"Hey, you made it," Mike said as I got closer. "I-your hair, I like it." he stuttered out. 

"Oh, yeah, thanks," I replied, touching my hair. I left it out today, styled similar to yesterday when the hair tie broke, but nicer. "Yeah, I went with your suggestion. And after thinking about it, I bit the bullet and went all-natural." I continued, leaving Mike stunned. 

"Like, all-natural like no more straightener cut off the heat damage natural?" He asked as I nodded. "I'm so happy for you!" Mike replied, hugging me and catching me off guard. I was hugged by my mom and Eddie on occasion but never like this. His hug was warm but firm. I bet he could pick me up. Unfortunately, my dumbass was caught in my thoughts that I forgot to hug back. He started to back away but I hugged him back. He smelled so good and just like...home?

"Are you guys done?" Eddie interrupted, looking annoyed and handing Richie ice cream. Mike and I quickly separated as my cheeks started heating up. The hug wasn't even that long or noticeable yet I still felt caught. 

"Oh, hey Eddie. Hey, Richie." I answered as Mike walked back over to the other losers. "Sorry, I'm late but I was waiting for you this morning," I replied as Eddie's annoyance swept away. 

"Oh, I- yeah, I slept over Richie's last night," Eddie said, looking slightly embarrassed as Richie's shit-eating-only-reserved-for-Eddie smile came across his face. I looked at both of them surprised, yet confused where my flustered Eddie, who hated but secretly loved to be left alone with Richie, went. "You didn't knock on my door, right?" He asked, know looking concern. 

"No, I thought about it but decided against it at the last minute," I answered, making Eddie calm down. "Hope you guys had fun last night." I finished turning my attention back to the group. I didn't see Richie motion to me with Eddie like he wanted to tell me something. I also didn't see Eddie's panic 'no.' "What are y'all talking about?" I asked, walking toward the other losers. 

"What they always talk about," Stan replies, rolling his eyes as I lean my head on his shoulder. To the corner of my eye, I see Bev motion to my hair and give a thumbs up. I mouth, 'thank you', as she nods in response. 

"I actually think it will end. For a little while, at least." Ben states as I start to tune into the conversation. 

"What do you mean?" Bev asks, looking confused. 

"So, I was going over all my Derry research and I charted out all the big events. The Ironworks explosion in 1908, the Bradley Gang in '35, and the Blackspot in '62. And now kids being..." Ben pauses, unsure how to word it. Good for him, I wouldn't either with Bill here. "I realized this stuff seems to happen-", Ben starts. 

"Every 27 years." Bill interrupts, as he stares at his shoes in thought. Stan and I looked at each other trying to figure out a logical solution to it. We all started walking over to the park as Stan and I, well mostly Stan, talked about the situation in a logical way. I'm not much of a logical person, but spending time with Stan has made me have an appreciation for it. We all picked a bench area, with Ben, Bev, Stan, and Mike sitting on the bench and Bill, Eddie, Richie, and me sitting on our bikes. 

"Ok, so, let me get this straight (ha I didn't even put that intentionally, that's his actual line, which is a hilarious cause that boy is FAR from straight): It comes out from wherever to eat kids for like, a year, and then what? It just goes into hibernation?" Eddie asks, looking around the group for a good answer. 

"Maybe it's like, what do you call it-" Stan starts. 

"Cicadas. Yeah, the bugs that come out every seventeen years." I interrupt. 

"My grandfather thinks this town s cursed. He says that all the bad things that happen in this town are because of one thing... an evil thing that feeds of the people of Derry." 

"But it can't be one thing. We all saw something different." Stan replied.

"Maybe. Or maybe It knows what scares us most, and that's what we see." Mike states as I nod seeing as it was a logical answer.

"I- I saw a Leper. He was like a walking infection." Eddie stuttered as I looked at him, surprised he never told me. But, then again I wasn't going to tell anyone about the night with Bev. 

"But you didn't. Because it isn't real. Not Eddie's Leper, or- or Bill seeing Georgie or the woman I keep seeing." Stan stutters out, as we all look at him, shocked at his statement. 

"She hot?" Richie asks, with amusement earning a hit from Eddie. 

"No, Richie. She's not hot! Her face is all messed up. None of this makes any sense! They're all like bad dreams." Stan concludes, seeming satisfied. But he'll never be satisfied (as always happy if ya know this) with any answer, seeming as none on them were logical. 

"I don't think so. I know the difference between a bad dream and real life, okay?" Mike replied. 

"What'd you see, you saw something, too?" I asked. 

"Yes. You guys know that burned house on Harris Avenue?" He asks, as we all nod. "Before I was rescued, my mom and dad were trapped in the next room over from me. They were pushing and pounding on the door, trying to get to me. But it was too hot. When the firemen finally found them, the skin on their hands had melted down to the bone. We're all afraid of something." He continued, as a shuddered remembering the day I first met him, looking as he had seen a ghost. 

"You got that right. All right, Rich, what are you afraid of?" Eddie asks, trying to change the subject. 

"Um, clowns..." Richie replies, as turns around to face us again. Weird. If this thing is a clown like Eddie saw, wouldn't he have appeared to Richie by now? "What about you y/n?" Richie questions, as the losers start to look at me. 

"Uh... I haven't really thought about it." I started, despite thinking about it constantly minus last night. " I guess, losing everything and everyone I love." I finish, refusing to meet anyone's eyes leading me to think about my dad. I could feel tears but blinked them back before anyone could see.

* * *

> _"Tryin' to keep to myself - But you bring me out of character - Every time again -"_

We rode over to Bill's house, shortly after. I rode in the back thinking about my dad, ignoring all the sympathetic stares. I never told anyone what happened to my dad, not even Eddie. I bet they've all come up with their own solutions or theories. Once we got to Bill's, the rest of the losers started setting up. I went to close the garage but I couldn't reach it (for my taller girls just imagine it's a tall garage door). Even on my tippy toes, the door was just out a reach. With one final try, I reached for it again and it came down, despite me not even touching it. I looked over to see Mike pull it down, looking over at me amused.

"Thanks," I say, as a little smile as I go to sit down next to Bev and Ben, with Stan, Richie, and Eddie across from us, and Bill and Mike standing. 

"Look," Bill says as he puts a slide into the projector, displaying a map of the Derry sewer system. "That's where G-G-Georgie disappeared. There's the Ironworks. And the Black Spot. " he continues, pointing to the places. "Everywhere it happens, it's all connected by the sewers. And they all meet up at the-" Bill starts. 

"The well house." Ben interrupts. 

"It's in the house on Neibolt Street." Stan states. 

"You mean that creepy-ass house where all the junkies and hobos like to sleep?" Richie asks as Eddie starts to have the symptoms of an asthma attack; uneven breathing. 

"I hate that place. It feels like it's watching me." Bev says as I nod in agreement. 

"That's where I saw It. That's where I saw the clown." Eddie coughs out, trying to steady his breathing with his inhaler. 

"Th-tha-that's where It lives." Bill stutters out. 

"I can't imagine anything ever wanting to live there," I reply as goosebumps creep up my arms. I suddenly hear wheezing and know it's Eddie immediately. He stands up, facing us looking like he's in the midst of an asthma attack. 

"Can we stop talking about this? I can barely breathe. This is summer. We're kids. I can barely breathe. I'm up here having a fucking asthma attack." Eddie shouts, as I mentally high five myself for figuring it. "I'm not doing this." He concludes, ripping the map off the wall.

"What the hell? Put the map back." Bill yells, as Eddie violently shakes his head. Then, the projector moves to the next slide. "What happened?" Bill questions, looking back and forth between the projector and the projection. 

"What's going on?" I ask, as a picture from a water ride pop-up. 

"I got it. Hold on." Mike replies, unplugging it, despite it still showing pictures. "Guys..." Mike mutters, slowly backing away from the projector. 

"Georgie," Bill whispers when a picture of him and his family at church pops up. Everyone is smiling except for his mom who face is covered by her hair. The pictures start to zoom in on Georgie as Stan looks over at Bill, who has his eyes glued to the projection. Then the pictures zoom in on Bill's mom as her hair moves out of her face, revealing a clown. 

"What the fuck is that?" Richie murmurs, as he stands up. "What the fuck is that?" Richie repeats, louder this time as he grabs Eddie's hand. "What the fuck is that?" Richie yells hysterically, pulling Eddie and turning his face into his chest. 

"Turn it off!" Bev shouts, toward Bill. 

"Yeah. Yeah, turn it off. Turn it off!" I shout, agreeing with Bev. Mike knocks the projector over, letting the slides fall out. The projection is sideways but keeps switching slides. But, it's no longer different pictures. Just a picture of the clown. A flicker, the clown is gone. Is it finally over? The room goes dark, for only a moment, when the clown pops out of the picture like we have 3D glasses on. We all scream and back away as It climbs out of the picture towards us. I keep backing up till I run into Bev who's in the corner, meaning we're both trapped. It starts to crawl faster as Bev hugs me from behind as we slide down against the wall. That's it (no pun intended), I'm gonna die. I'm really gonna die I- 

Before the clown can reach us, the garage door opens as light floods in. I feel tears on my cheeks, yet I don't remember crying. 

"It saw us," Eddie whispers, in Richie's arms. "It saw us, and it knows where we are." Eddie finishes, as he faces us again, with Richie still holding him. 

"That's where G-G-Georgie is." Bill states. 

"After that?" I ask, standing up and helping Bev up. 

"Yeah, it's one of our last summers before college. We should be outside." Richie, replies. 

"If you say it's summer one more f-f-f-fucking time." Bill barks out, as he quickly grabs his bike and starts to ride off. 

"Bill! Wait!" Bev calls after him, despite him ignoring her. We all look amongst each other and sigh. 

"I think I just shit my pants," Richie says as we all look at him with either annoyance, disgust, or disappointment. 

    

    

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ha after writing this I kinda thought about a Stanley Uris X Black!Reader fic but with the reader as Mike's twin sister. 1) would you guys want that and 2) fluffier, smuttier, or the same as this one? {btw slight smut scenes are gonna come soon ;) }


	8. Garden (Say It Like That)

> _"Need you for the old me - Need you for my sanity - Need you to remind me where I come from-"_

y/n POV: 

We quickly grabbed our bikes and followed Bill to Neibolt. I had goosebumps the whole way there. Funny enough, when we turned on the street, I felt chills down my spine. I looked over to Stan and we both had the same look in our eyes. He felt it too. We got there right after Bill, as he's on the porch, facing toward the front door. 

"Bill!" Bev shouts as he turns around. "Bill, you can't go in there." She continues, as we all dropped our bikes and ran unto the lawn. 

"This is crazy," I add, as Bev nods with me. 

"Look, you don't have to come in with me. But what happens when another Georgie goes missing? Or another Betty? Or another Ed Corcoran? Or one of us? (whoops didn't know you were a psychic Bill) Are you just gonna pretend it isn't happening like everyone else in this town? Because I can't. I go home, and all I see is that Georgie isn't there. His clothes, his toys, his stupid stuffed animals, but... He isn't. So walking into this house, for me, is easier than walking into my own." Bill declares as he walks back up to the door. 

"Wow," Richie exclaims. 

"What?" I question.

"He didn't stutter once." Richie finishes, looking astonished. This must be very important to Bill if he didn't even stutter. 

"Wait!" Stan yells as we all start to follow Bill into the house. "Um...Shouldn't we have people keep watch? You know, just in case something bad happens?" He asks, as Bill pauses and the rest of us nod in agreement. 

"Who wants to stay out here?" Bill asks as everyone raises their hands except for Bev. Bev shoots me a pleading look making me lower my hand. 

"Fuck." I sigh. 

* * *

> _"Open your heart up - Hoping I'll never find out that you're anyone else -_ _'_ _Cause I love you just how you are - And hope you never find out who I really am - 'Cause you'll never love me-"_

My luck can go suck a dick. I had pulled the shortest stick with Richie and Eddie meaning my black ass had to go in. I had seen the horror movies with Richie so I know my black ass is probably gonna be killed first. The four of us walk into the house, the door creaking as it opened. 

"I can't believe I pulled the short straw. You guys are lucky we're not measuring dicks." Richie states as Eddie hits him in the arm. 

"Yeah, right. You're probably shorter the stick you drew." Eddie replies, rolling his eyes. 

"Wouldn't you like to find out?" Richie quips back, making Eddie blush. 

"Ok, lovebirds concentrate," I say, shutting the both up since their bickering could last forever. 

"I can smell it," Eddie whispers, ignoring me. 

"Don't breathe through your mouth," Richie whispers back. 

"How come?" Eddie questions, as I see a paper stuck in a cobweb. 

"Because then you're eating it," Richie replies as I hear Eddie gag while I grab the paper. 'Group of teens missing, 1 survivor.' It reads above two pictures. One picture has the loser club minus me smiling while the other has me, dressed in black with tears running down my face.

"It..It says y'all are missing." I mutter, reading the article.

"We're not missing, y/n," Eddie replies.

" Funeral arrangments, City of Derry. That's you. That's Richie. That's Bill. That's-" I continue, while Richie snatches the paper from me and throwing it across the room. 

"Calm down, it's not real," Richie says. 

"No! No, it said it!" I yell, no longer feeling the similar numbness I felt at Bev's. "Y'all are missing! I'm going to be alone! It's all my fault! It's- I- I can't let this happen again. I can't have someone die around me again. I- I-" I continue screaming, as Bill grabs my shoulder, making me flinch. 

"Y/n, it's not real, okay? We're here and we're fine. We're aren't missing and we aren't going missing. And, it will never be your fault, okay?" Bill responds, in a soothing voice as I slowly calm down. I look up at him, as tears fill my eyes. Bill gives me a small smile as I hug him. I'm not the closest to Bill but we both know the feeling of someone dying and blaming ourselves. 

"Hello? Hello?" A female voice shouts, interrupting the moment. "Help me, please!" It yells. I know that voice, I've heard it before. 

"Betty Ripeson," I whisper, as I stop hugging Bill. The others stare at me as I walk over to the stairs. I start going upstairs when they start to follow. Once, reaching the top, there's a long hallway with an open door at the end. A girl, Betty Ripeson, crawls to the opening. She's coughing and looks over at us. This can't be real. I heard her in the pipes. 

"Is that-" Bill starts. 

"It's not real," I respond as she gets pulled away screaming. Apparently, Bill doesn't believe me as he, Richie, and Eddie walk forward toward the room. 

"She's was just here. Where the fuck did she go?" Richie asks as I follow them into the room. 

"Eddie?" I ask, as I hear screaming and the door creaking behind me. "Eddie!" I scream, as I see him running towards the closing door. The door suddenly closes as Eddie bangs on the door screaming, begging to get in. Bill and Richie push me out of the way as they desperately struggle to open the door. In the corner of my eye, a door opens and I see Eddie's inhaler shine in the darkness of the room. I walk inside, with the door slamming behind me. Shit. Shit! Shit!

"Guys, this isn't funny!" I yell pounding on the door. Ah, I'm so stupid. 

"Y/n." A voice murmurs. 

"Y/n." Another voice sing songs.

"You're all alone now." The second voice sings. "You drove everyone away." 

"What's wrong with you? Hanging out with strange boys, crushing on boys and girls, cutting your hair. What would your father think?" The first voice shouts. The voices go back and forth singing and shouting about all my flaws. I slid to the ground, with my back against the door. I'm crying again as they get louder and louder and then...stop.

"You couldn't save your dad. But, you still have time. Save your friends. Jump through the hole and sacrifice yourself." The second voice sings as a hole in the floor opens. I jiggle the door one more time and decide my fate. I walk over to the hole seeing a well right underneath me. Before I could do anything, a hand grabs my shirt and I'm yanked back into the room with Richie and Bill. The door to the room I was in, slams shut and the hand on my shirt is connected to Richie. 

"What the fuck were you trying to do?" Richie asks, turning me to him. 

"I- I-" I stuttered out, trying to find an answer. 

"You can't do that." Richie continues, pulling me into a hug. "Eddie, Mike, and Stan would've had my head over a fireplace if anything happened to you. And I would give it willingly." Richie finishes. 

"Richie...don't be getting sappy on me. You know I-" I start, drying my tears. "What the heck is that?" I ask as Eddie's head pops out of a mattress. 

"You wanna play loogie?" 'Eddie' asks, as black liquid flows out of his mouth, onto the floor, and flowing towards us. It had steam and bubbles coming off of it and it smells like boiled noodles. 'Eddie' laughs and disappears into the mattress. We all back away and turn toward doos labeled, 'not scary at all', 'scary', and 'very scary'. Richie, Bill, and I look at each other and run towards, 'not scary at all'. We open it to a light switch swinging, Bill reaches it, turns the light on, to reveal Betty Ripsom hanging from her wrists without legs. 

"Where the fuck were her legs?" Richie questions, as I slam the door. 

"Holy shit, what the fuck was that?" I add, looking at Bill. 

"Th-th-this isn't real. Remember the poster. That wasn't real, so this isn't real." Bill assures me. "Come on. Ready?" Bill asks, facing the door again. 

"Nope," Richie answers as I nod with him. Bill opens the door anyway to reveal a hallway. 

"Oh, thank fuck." Richie sighs, as I start to get confused.

"Where's Eddie?" I ask, walking out into the hallway. I was answered by muffled screams and cries of help. We all ran down the stairs, toward the noise, leading us to the kitchen. We all sigh in relief upon finding him but are shocked to see the clown staring at us with his hand on Eddie's neck. 

"This isn't real enough for you, Billy? I'm not real enough for you?" The clown asks, in a silly condescending voice. "It was real enough for Georgie." The clown spits, laughing at our shocked faces. It stands up and runs toward us trying to grab us. But before It can, Bev comes out of nowhere with the other losers and stabs a spike into its eye. The clown stops as blood floats out of his eye. Richie, Bev, Bill, and I run over to Eddie as the clown is distracted. 

"Oh fuck! We gotta get out of here!" Richie yells as the clown slowing turns around facing us.

"No, no, no, no!" Eddie screams, staring right at the clown.

" Eddie! Eddie, look at me." Richie shouts over Eddie's screams, position Eddie's face toward his on. Damn, if we weren't about to die this would be really romantic. Suddenly, the clown growls and turns away, slicing Ben in the stomach with his claws. Man, that man is constantly getting cut on his stomach. The clown backs away, toward the basement. 

"Wait, Bill, come back!" I yell as Bill starts to follow the clown. I run over to Bill, as we watch the clown jump down into the same well I saw earlier. We both looked over at each other, confirming what each other saw. 

"I'm gonna snap your arm back into place," Richie states, as Bill and I walk back over to the rest of the losers. 

"Do not fucking touch me!" Eddie yells, glaring at Richie. Richie starts to count down ignoring Eddie's pleas. "No, no, Richie don't-" Eddie starts, cut off by his own scream as Richie snaps his arm back into place. We all wince at the sound while Richie tries to console Eddie. 

"Guys, we gotta go!" Bev shouts as Eddie lets Richie pick him up willingly. We all run outside as Richie puts Eddie into the basket of Mike's bike. I look up to see Stan already riding off to Bill's house, most likely to call Mrs. Kasprack. Oh shit, we're gonna have to call Mrs. Kasprack.


	9. Broken Clocks

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING slight smut this chapter and also some slurs and some fighting (physical and verbal)

> _"I'm never going back, never going back - No you can't make me - Never going back, never going back - They never take me..."_

y/n POV: 

If I was in a movie, I would've fast-forwarded this part. Or maybe, rewinded and rewatched the good parts. We called Mrs. Kraspbrack, well Bill called Mrs. Kraspback. He was the only one Eddie trusted other than Stan since hates Richie with a passion, and she doesn't know Eddie is hanging out with Ben, Bev, or Mike. I'm not sure about me though. We all put ice on Eddie's arm and sit on Bill's porch until Eddie's mom arrives. She pulls up, barley parking, and grabs Eddie's good arm. 

"You." She says, pointing at Bill. "You did this. You know how delicate he is." Mrs. K spits at us. 

"We were attacked, Mrs. K."Bill starts. 

"No. Don't. Don't try and blame anyone else." Mrs. K shouts, putting Eddie in the car and shutting the door. Eddie refuses to look or acknowledge us at all. Mrs. K starts to leave but drops her keys. 

"Let me help," Bev says, reaching towards the keys. 

"Get back!" Mrs. K yells, forcing Bev back. "Oh, I've heard of you, Miss Marsh. And I don't want a dirty girl like you touching my son." She snarks, making Bev winch. 

"Mrs. K, I swear, I..." Bill starts again. 

"No! You are all monsters. All of you. But especially you four." Mrs. K yells, pointing towards Bev, Richie, Mike, and me. "You two are making my son dirty from the inside out and are trying to change my precious Eddie." She continues, pointing at Bev and Richie. "While you two are just dirty on the outside. I didn't even know my Eddie-bear hung out with scumb like you." Mrs. K snarks, pointing at Mike and me. 

"Excuse me? What do you mean scumb like us?" I ask, making everyone look toward me including Eddie. 

"I don't allow my son to be around anything dirty or unnatural." She spits, looking me up and down. 

"Unnatural? Because I'm black?" I accuse, as everyone's eyes widen. " And for your information, I've been hanging around Eddie since the beginning of junior year and would consider him one of best friends." I shoot back. 

"Young lady, please. Since you think you know everything around here, I know everyone Eddie hangs out with and is friends with." Mrs. K starts. "If I remember correctly, Eddie isn't friends with any sluts," Mrs. K pauses, glaring at Bev. "fags, "She pauses again, glaring at Richie. "and especially no nig-rs." She finishes, glaring at Mike and me. I feel my fist clenching as everyone around me gasps. I look over toward Eddie, who catches me looking at him, and angrily turns away. 

"And Eddie is done with you. All of you. Do you hear? Done!" Mrs. K declares, smiling with the reaction she got from everybody. She stomps to her car, gets into the driver's seat, and drives away. We all step out into the road watching as they drive off. I can feel angry tears, starting to stream down my cheeks, but quickly wipe them off. 

"I- well we saw the well." Bill starts, motioning towards me. "We know where It is and next time we'll be better prepared." He finishes, as I look at him confused. 

"No! No next time, Bill! You're insane!" Stan yells as I nod with him agreeing. 

"Why? We all know no one else is going to do anything." Bev shouts. 

"Eddie was nearly killed! And look at this motherfucker. He's leaking hamburger helper!" Richie shouts back, gesturing towards Ben's stomach. 

"We can't pretend It's gonna go away. Ben, you said it yourself, It comes back every twenty-seven years." Bev says, hoping Ben will agree with her like usual. 

"Fine! I'll be 40 and far away from here. I thought you said you wanted to get out of this town, too." Ben quips back, shocking me. That man is a simp for Bev and has never disagreed with her before. 

"Because I wanna run towards something. Not away!" Bev yells back.

"I'm sorry, who invited Molly Ringwald into the group?" Richie cuts in, as Bev shoots him her middle finger. 

"Richie-" I start, trying to stop this before anything happened. 

"No! I'm just saying, let's face facts." Oh no, a mad Richie is never a pretty sight. It's pretty rare since Richie asks as nothing bothers him, but when it does happen Richie always says something that you can never take back. Plus, that man will hold a grudge until YOU apologize. Of course, this is only an exception for Eddie. "Real world. Georgie is dead. Stop trying to get us killed, too." Richie barks, as Mike, Stan, and I look at each other. Shit didn't just hit the fan, it hit the fucking windmill. 

"Georgie's not dead," Bill replies. 

"You couldn't save him, but you can still save yourself." Richie finishes. 

"No, take it back. You're scared and we all are, but take it back!" Bill yells, pushing Richie. Bad move, Bill. Richie runs forward and pushes Bill back. Then, Bill punches Richie in the face, sending Richie to the ground. Richie jumps back up, tackling Bill. They both start throwing punches at each other as well all try to get them off. They don't get tons of punches when Mike picks up Richie as he's still punching and kicking.

"Let me go, Homeschool!" Richie yells as Mike holds him up easily. Damn, the farm work must be doing wonders for Mike. I mean Richie isn't that heavy, I mean the guy is a literal string bean, almost as tall as Mike. But Mike is holding him like an adorable little lamb if it was screaming bloody murder and its limbs were flailing around. Richie's face has barely any bruises except for the black eye starting to form while Bill has multiple bruises scattered around his face and upper body plus he has a bloody nose. 

"Bill!" Bev screams as Bill starts to reach for Richie again, but is held back by Ben. 

"You're just a bunch of losers! Fuck off!" Richie screams, still trying to get Mike to drop him. 

"Bill, stop," Ben says, as Bill squirms in his grip. 

"You're just a bunch of losers and you'll get yourselves killed trying to catch a fucking stupid clown!" Richie yells, as Mike grips him tighter but farther away from him like he was a wet cat ready to kill. 

"Stop!" Bev yells, getting Mike to drop Richie and Ben to release Bill. We all give her attention as she goes to speak again. "This is what It wants. It wants to divide us. We were all together when we hurt It. _That's_ why we're still alive!" She yells, trying to be the voice of reasoning, but failing. 

"Yeah? Well, I plan to keep it that way." Richie shoots back as he walks away, intentionally bumping into Bill like the little bitch he is. Stan and Ben look at us and walk off. Mike starts to walk off but is stopped by Bev.

"Mike..." Bev says, in a soft voice. 

"Guys... I can't do this. My granddad was right. I'm an outsider. Gotta stay that way." Mike replies in a sad voice, grabbing his bike and riding off. 

"Y/n?" Bev asks as she and Bill turn towards me. 

"I- I don't know guys. I wanna help, but I- I don't wanna make this worse like I always do. First, my dad, then Eddie and his mom, and know this... I- need time to think." I state, grabbing my bike. "Sorry for messing up summer." I finish as I ride away, tears streaming down my face. I don't know where to go. We're all fighting and going home means seeing Eddie. I ride and ride and ride till I get to the park. I collapse on the ground, letting out my tears. This is it. My new perfect life was gone, ruined even. And it was all my fault. Fuck Derry. Fuck this move. Fuck Henry Bowers. Fuck Sonia. Fuck the Losers Club. And especially, fuck me.

* * *

> _"Better day than yesterday_ \- _I just take it day by day_ \- _Never hearing what they say_ \- _I just do it my way..."_

This month was one of the worst months I've had in a while. I barely talked to any of the losers. Bill and Bev would stop by every now and then. I tried hanging out with them but constantly felt like a 3rd-wheel, so that was short-lived. I only saw Ben either walking to or from the library. He would wave, but that was any other conversation. Richie was being Richie most likely sulking at the arcade but never saw him whenever I pasted it. Stan and I talked a little and even went bird watching. But, it wasn't the same. It wasn't peaceful like usual but awkward with a big ole elephant in the room.

I actually hung out with Mike the most. He would always invite me over to the farm where we could talk or play with the animals after his chores were done. We would talk about anything and everything. We usually talked about school as senior year was coming up. I kept trying to convince him to come to school for senior year since I couldn't imagine a life without friends anymore. He always said 'he would see what he could do', but it sounded like bullshit to me. I could tell he wanted to but with all this clown shit, I wouldn't blame him for wanting to stay out of it. 

Mike seemed to become my new best friend after the 2nd Sonia incident. My dumbass actually knocked on the door, begging to talk to Eddie. She, of course, shooed me away as she called me every slur in the book. I'm not sure what hurt more the slurs or the fact that Eddie was in the background once again and said nothing. He didn't stick up for me and acted like I didn't exist. So, I guess Mike was my new best friend. It wasn't like Eddie but he was still someone to lean on. 

Although there was nothing wrong with Mike, homeboy was literally my bucket of sunshine, I missed my best friend. I decided on a foolproof plan to get my best friend back. That Sunday, I convinced my mom to let me not go to church. Sonia was an advent churchgoer and would spend hours there, despite being most likely siblings with Satan himself. This would give me time to talk some sense into Eddie before she would get home. Mom was very skeptical but told me I would make it up next week. I

waited for Mom and then Sonia to leave plus I even waited an extra hour to avoid noisy neighbors spilling their guts, before heading over. I knocked on the door but had no answer. Luckily, I knew about the key under the mat. I grabbed it and quickly unlocked the door letting myself in. The house was quiet, making me think that Eddie actually went to church that day. Fortunately for me, I heard a bed squicking upstairs. I quickly ran up the stairs and walked up to the door with the squeaky bed. I went to knock but stopped myself. What if Eddie slammed the door in my face? I couldn't do this. I should chicken out. I- No. I thought this plan out and I need to talk to my best friend. 

"Eddie we need to-" I yelled opening the door. "Oh my gosh!" I screamed, seeing not only Eddie in his bed but Richie as well both naked. 

"Y/n! What the fuck are you doing here?" Richie yelled as I covered my eyes screaming. 

"I needed to talk to- wait, what the fuck are you doing here?" I yelled back. 

"I- It's not what it looks like, y/n!" Eddie yelled. 

"Not what it looks like! You're getting your shit rocked by Richie fucking Tozier with a fucking cast on!" I shout. "Can you both please put some clothes on so I can talk?" I finish, as I hear rustling. 

"Okay, okay you can undercover your eyes," Eddie responds, after a few moments. "Now, why did you need to talk to me about?" He asks, slight annoyance in his voice. 

"I was here to- whatever it doesn't matter the reason. How long has this been happening?" I ask, gesturing to the both of them. 

"Uh, since the Derry parade," Richie answers sheepishly as Eddie hits him in the arm. "What she was going to find out eventually." Richie shrugs, as Eddie rolls his eyes. 

"The Derry Parade, huh? Guess that sleepover was eventful." I shoot, making Richie blush and rub his neck. "So, who else knows, and when the fuck were you gonna tell me?" 

"Uh, just you but probably Stan since it's Stan and _I_ was going to tell you that day but _someone_ stopped me," Richie answers again, glaring at Eddie. 

"You weren't going to tell me? You weren't going to tell your best friend that you finally hooked up with your crush since 8th grade?" I yell at Eddie. 

"First of all we aren't hooking up, we're dating," Richie starts making me glare at Eddie more as he face-palms. "And, second of all, you've liked me since 8th grade? Hahaha! I beat you! I've liked you since 6th grade!" Richie smirks, toward Eddie. 

"So, you weren't going to tell your best friend that you were dating your crush?" I repeat. 

"Well, I- you- you didn't tell your 'best friend' about Bev! I had to find out from Richie!" Eddie shoots back, as I glare at Richie. 

"You told him about Bev?" I yell at Richie, who looks like a child trying to calm down his two fighting parents. 

"Well, I-" Richie starts. 

"Well did he tell you about how he kissed me?" I yell. 

"You kissed y/n?" Eddie shouts. 

"Ok that wasn't-" Richie starts again. 

"Well, at least he told me about Mike!" Eddie shouts, standing up. 

"What about him?" I shout. 

"Guys that's enough..." Richie starts, yet again.

"About how he thinks you two are getting all cozy together, after just getting over Bev. Didn't know Mike was your leftovers." Eddie spits. 

"At least he was there when I needed him. At least he comforted me when you didn't even look in my eye while your mom called me the n-word." I yell, running over toward Eddie and getting all up in his face. We both yelled at each other until Richie stood up. 

"Okay, that's enough!" Richie yelled, getting between us. "Both of you need to sit down and shut the fuck up." He yells, pointing to the bed for Eddie and at the chair for me. "Y/n, Eddie and I have been dating since the Derry Parade. He was scared to tell you since he thought you would either make a big deal out of it, out him or be upset that he was spending all his time with me. I tried reassuring him with the fact about Bev and Mike since I assumed you already told him. Of course, he freaked out and didn't want to tell you even more. We've been hanging out tons and I ended up dropping the fact about telling you. I wanted to but didn't want Eddie's anxiety to throw me out the window." Richie explained. 

"You really thought I would've outed you? Eddie, I'm bi. If I was gonna out anyone it would be me. And yeah, sure I would've made a big deal out of it, sue me you finally got with Richie. But I wouldn't have been upset about you hanging out with Richie, I would've been understanding then upset like I am now." I shrug out. 

"I'm not finished yet," Richie replies as Eddie opens his mouth to say something. 

"Eddie, yes y/n and I kissed but that's because I tried proving to her that every bone in my body was straight. We all know that's not true since I'm a disaster bisexual with y/n." Richie starts, as I roll my eyes. "Ok, we can speak now Eds." Richie finishes, laying on the bed. 

"Y/n, I- I actually didn't know. I'm gay in fucking Derry of all places. I was just scared that maybe you would've told someone or let it slip. And, then I got so angry when Rich told me about Bev and Mike I- I just lost it. I thought you were fucking avoiding me because you found out and I distanced myself. And, yes I know I shouldn't have done that and especially should've stood up for you after what my mom said. I guess I was just angry which wasn't right of me. But, I want to make things right, if you let me?" Eddie declares, looking over to me. 

"Oh, Eddie of course," I say, going over and hugging Eddie. 

"Good, cause I can't deal with this man anymore. I need someone to tell his dirty secrets too." Eddie and I laughed as Richie scoffed. Suddenly, I heard a car door slam. I looked out Eddie's window to see Sonia walking towards the door. 

"Uh, Eddie, Sonia's home," I mumble. 

"What! What time is it?" Eddie yells, moving out of the hug. 

"Uh, 5:30?" I respond as we hear the front door open. 

"Shit! Shit! Shit! I gotta get you guys out of here." Eddie rambles, looking for a solution. 

"Back door?" I ask. 

"Too dangerous, she'll see you." Eddie shuts down. 

"How about the window?" I ask, seeing as its only two stories plus Eddie has a pipe near his window. 

"She'll see us through the window and I can't risk breaking my arm. Somebody gotta keep their good hand job hand between the both of us." Richie replies, making both Eddie and me groan. "Unless... threesome?" Richie asks, willingly his eyebrows making me hit him in the arm. 

"Any other ideas?" I ask. 

"Eddie-bear? Where are you?" Sonia calls, interrupting me. "Eddie-bear? I'm coming upstairs right now." She continues, making all of us freak out. 

"No time. Get in the closet." Eddie says, pushing both me and Richie until his closet. 

"Spaghetti, no! I just left from there!" Richie jokes as Eddie throws Richie's shoes and clothes at him. 

"Eddie-bear, are you dressed?" Sonia asks, knocking on the door. 

"Not another word," Eddie whispers, shutting the closet door and running over to his desk.

"I'm coming in." Sonia continues, barging in just as Eddie picks up a pencil.

"Oh, hi mommy. I was uh- I was just doing some summer work." Eddie states, showing her summer packet. 

"Oh, my Eddie-bear. You've been such a good kid after dropping all your friends and focusing on your schoolwork." Sonia congratulates, kissing him on the forehead making Richie gag quietly. "But, Eddie you must pick up your clothes more." She continues, picking up Richie discarded shirts off the floor. Shit. "Eddie-bear? When did you get this?" She questions, making all of gasp.

"I- I-" Eddie stutters. 

"Oh, Eddie-bear you must practice your English more. You are starting to sound like the DenBrough's boy. No worries, I'll put this away for you." Sonia replies, waddling over to the closet. Shoot. We're gonna get caught. I'm more scared now than I was with It.

"No! Don't!" Eddie yells, right before his mouth reaches the closet. "I- I'll put it up since I- um, your birthday present is in there and I don't want you to see it, yeah," Eddie explains, lying through his teeth. 

"Oh, Eddie-bear you are the best child a mother could ask for!" She exclaims. 

"We dodged a bullet there, ah cowgirl?" Richie whispers as Sonia keeps talking about how wonderful Eddie is. 

"Ha, yeah. I never wanna deal with Sonia's wrath again." I laugh. 

"Feel you. By the way, you owe me 20 bucks so pay up." Richie states, holding his hand toward me. 

"Shit, y'all actually went all the way?" I ask digging around in my back pocket.

"Yessir, all the way to home base. I knocked his balls out of the park." Richie smirked as I gagged, handing him the money. "'Thank you, madam," Richie replied, tipping his non-existent hat yet again.

"No uh, thank you Richie for like everything. Don't think I could've talked to Eddie about this on my own. " I whisper.

"No problemo, besides what would I do without my other disaster bisexual?" Richie smiles. 

"Disaster bisexuals?" I ask, sticking my fist out. 

"Disaster bisexuals," Richie whispers, fist-bumping me.

    

    

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i need to stop posting late night, sorry in advance for typos but I'll go back later after the story is finished and fix up everything


	10. Anything

> _"Keepin' up is hard to do - Even harder feeling heavy, steady chasin' you - Beep beep, why are you lookin' around, you lonely?"_

y/n POV:

Despite reconnecting with Richie and Eddie, the loser's club was still disbanded. Yes, I hung out with everyone, but separately. It wasn't the same and no matter how hard I tried to bring everyone together there was also an excuse. 

"I don't want it to be awkward." Ben would say. 

"It's easier for me to remain an outsider." Mike would argue. 

"That's none of business. Those hardheaded dumbasses should've worked it out by now." or "I don't have the mental strength for that." or another snarky remark from Stan. And the oh so dreaded complaints of, 

"He should apologize first." from Bill and Richie had me 0.5 seconds away from grabbing them by their necks and forcing them both to apologize. Bev and Eddie were expectantly on their boyfriend's side. Yeah, Bill and Bev started dating. I knew it was coming so I'm not particularly upset but it still stings to the point where I hang out with them the least. 

It seemed like there was nothing I could do. It was the last week of July and August would be coming soon. I desperately needed the losers club to re-assemble yet I was stuck. Both parties were hard-headed and weren't willing to hear the other out. I thought the Loser's club was officially over till Bill ran into the arcade. Richie and I were hanging out at the arcade, trying to beat each other's ass in street fighter. We were tied 9-9 with all of our money spent. Whoever won this game, would come out on top for the day. It was a rigorous game where my attention was hypnotized by the screen until I was called out of my trance. 

"Y/n! Richie!" Bill yelled, running into the arcade. Richie glanced at Bill, clearly pissed off as Bill ran over to us.

"What do want? You see y/n's character that I'm hitting? I'm pretending it's you." Richie replied. 

"Richie, be nice," I said as Bill stood awkwardly to the side like he was unsure of what to say. 

"Nah, fuck him," Richie responded, throwing up a middle finger toward Bill. But, that finger allowed me to overpower Richie and win the game. I sneer at Richie as he looks like he's trying to decide if he wants to smack me or Bill. 

"Told you to be nice," I replied, with a sweet smile. "Now, Bill are you finally here to apologize?" I ask, turning to Bill.

"What? No I- It got Beverly." Bill answers as I roll my eyes. This man is still hella stubborn after all this time-wait Bev?

"What are you talking about?" Richie asks putting his arm on my shoulder, as I nod in agreement with him. 

" _It_ , Richie. It got Beverly, y/n." Bill replies as I feel a little part of my heartbreak. We all decided to go get Eddie, then the rest of the losers since he was the closest. Once, we got there I told the boys I would go in so they could work their shit out. Of course, they complained but I ignored them and went to go knock on the door. Thankfully, Eddie answered. 

"Hey, how was the arcade?" He asked. 

"Fine. But no time for that. We have to go to Neibolt. It has Bev." I replied. 

"What! Ok, I'm coming just give me one sec." Eddie answered as he started to put on his shoes. 

"And just where do you think you're off to?" ~~Mrs. Kasprack, Mrs. K,~~ Sonia questions, not seeing me. 

"Out with friends," Eddie responds as he starts to tie his shoes. 

"Sweetie, you can't go. Especially not with that negro girl. Plus you're getting over your sickness, remember?" Sonia replies. 

"First of all, that 'negro' girl is my best friend and can hear you." Eddie starts, motioning to the front door where I'm standing. I awkwardly wave as I see Sonia's face redden from either embarrassment or anger. "And second of all, my sickness? Okay, what sickness, Ma?" Eddie yells, as he reaches into his pocket and pulls out a bottle of pills. I stare confused as Sonia looks like a ~~deer~~ , whoops my bad that's not nice to the deer, a mammoth caught in headlights. "You know what these are? They're gazebos!" He spits, throwing the bottle to the ground. 

'Placebos.' My inner Stan corrects as I stay silent. She's been giving him fake pills? That's another level of messed up. I mean, how you gonna be racist, sexist, homophobic, and convince your son he has multiple allergies and asthma. Jeez, I feel so bad for Eddie. 

"They help you, Eddie. I had to protect you." Sonia replies in a sweet, manipulative voice. 

"Protect me? By lying to me? By keeping me locked inside this hellhole? I'm sorry, but the only people that were actually trying to protect me were my friends. And you made me turn my back on them when I really needed them. So I'm going." Eddie declares, as I silently cheer in the background. Period queen, you tell 'em! I must've been cheering too hard as Sonia stares at me like Medusa, probably hoping I would turn into stone. 

"Eddie. Eddie-bear. No." She screams as she starts to chase us. I grab Eddie's hand and run down his porch. Bill and Richie are sitting on the ground, but aren't talking nor looking at each other. "You get back here!" She yells again. 

"Guys, guys, guys! We gotta go! Like now!" I yell as Eddie and I grab our bikes. We all scramble onto our bikes as Sonia gets closer. 

"Sorry, mom, I gotta go save my friends!" Eddie calls.

"Eddie-bear! Don't do this to me, Eddie." She cries as we all ride off. Eddie pauses for just a moment, but then shakes his head and catches up with us. He would no longer be under his mother's reign anymore. We quickly set off to grab each loser, starting with Stan as he was the closest then Ben, and finally Mike. Eddie and I told the story of the Sonia Incident as Bill filled them in about Bev. The loser's club was back and on a mission. Hold on Bev, help is on the way. 

    

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this was a little shorter than most but blame school for giving me actually work to do. ahhh can't believe we're almost done!! but don't worry a stanley uris x black!reader is on the way and don't forget comments I will respond to any and all of them


	11. Wavy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW: This chapter has volience, blood, and attempted sexual assualt

> _"I think I'm bad as hell - I got issues, out of line..."_

y/n POV: 

I felt shivers down my spine as we pulled up to the house. I couldn't believe we actually coming back to the place. It just seemed to get creepier from the last time we were here. We all dropped our bikes as Bill reminded us about weapons. Mike had an airgun while the rest of us helped Bill put spikes in his bag. Suddenly there was a crash, causing us to turn around to see Richie holding a smashed beer bottle that I assumed he tried to make into a weapon. He tosses it to the ground as our attention turns toward the door. We all then walk into the house with Bill first, then Mike, me, Eddie, Richie, Ben, and Stan. Except Stan wasn't with us. 

"Stan?" Ben asks as we all turn to see Stan outside, shaking in front of the door. 

"Stan, we all have to go," I say as he looks at me. His eyes pleading to not make him go. 

"Beverly was right. If we split up like last time, that clown will kill us one by one. But if we stick together, all of us, we'll win. I promise." Bill adds as Stan's eyes soften. He finally steps in and starts to follow us. I smirked at him as he of course listened to Bill, and got an eloquently middle finger in return. We all start to walk toward the kitchen, and head to the well. 

"Hey, Eddie, you got a quarter?" Richie jokes, upon seeing the well. 

"I wouldn't want to make a wish in that fucking thing," Eddie replies. 

"Beverly?" Ben asks in the well, his voice echoing. Richie, Stan, and I give a look to each other saying, 'Does he really think she can hear him from down there?'

"How are we supposed to get down there?" Mike questions, as I turn to see a rope laying on the floor. We then secure the rope against a pulley and throw it down. "All right. Come on." Mike states, helping Bill down. Once Bill is secured, he's followed by Eddie, Richie, and then Ben. I'm halfway down the rope when Mike screams from behind me. 

"Mike?" I ask when I hear laughing. I know that voice... Suddenly, Bowers's face, drenched in blood, appears above the well. 

"Bowers." I yelp, as the Losers all gasp under me. "Don't hurt him!" I scream as Bowers starts grabbing the rope, taking me with it.

"Y/n!" The losers yell as I become face to face with Bowers. His hand then wraps around my neck in a firm grip where I still have air but very little. I start squirming and try to get out of his hold as he drops the rope beside him. 

"You didn't listen to what I told you, did you? You should've stayed out of Derry. Your parents didn't and look what happened to them. I still get sad every time I pass by that pile of ashes. Sad, that I couldn't have done it myself." Bowers bites, at Mike. Mike is looking at us dumbfounded as I'm dangling in the air, trying to break free. If my feet were on the ground I could've kicked him in the nuts, but Bowers has me hovering.

"Leave them alone!" I hear Richie yell. 

"At least I get to get rid of you and your girlfriend," Henry smirks as Mike's eyes widen more either in shock or embarrassment. Girlfriend? "Maybe, if you're lucky, you can watch me and your girl fuck." Henry continues, as Mike starts to look pissed off and I gasp. Well, as much as I can with Bower's hand around my throat. "What? Did she never let you hit it?" Bowers questions, with a smug smile. I guess he assumes that both of our silence answers his question. "And you're both probably virgins too, right?" Bowers asks, which is answered by our silence again. "Don't worry, I'll take real good care of her, make her feel real nice. She'll be a pro when it's your turn. Well, maybe." Bowers finishes as he eyes me and I start freaking out.

I scratch his eye, making him drop me. I gasp for air on the floor, looking over to see Bowers over Mike with the airgun, pointed straight to his head. I quickly run over and push Bowers off of Mike, but it's too late. The airgun thankfully doesn't hit him in the head but grazes his ear. Bowers is on the floor dumbfounded as I try to help Mike. Then, Bowers backhand slaps me, making me fall over. 

"I'll deal with you later," Bowers yells, backhanding Mike with the gun. I look over seeing Mike, unresponsive on the ground. I quickly stand up and punch Bowers straight in his jaw. He then stares back at me pissed, like it didn't affect him. I stare at my fist like it was broken, wondering why Bowers wasn't on the ground. He then punches me in my cheek and crawls over me. I start scratching and clawing at his eyes, but he takes both my hands in his arms and pins them above my head. My eyes widen in fear as Henry stares down at me and kiss me. His lips were chapped, bloody, and tasted like money.

"I was gonna fuck you later y/n after I killed your little boyfriend but you wouldn't cooperate. Was gonna make it slow and nice, maybe you enjoyed it. Now I gotta go fast before your boyfriend wakes up and messes up my plans." He replies, kissing me again. I then feel his fingers reach into my shorts and press against my entrance. The tears start flooding, the screams get louder and I squirm even more.

"Y/n! Don't do it, Bowers!" I hear one of the losers yell. 

But, no matter how much squirming I do, it just seems that his grip tightens. Should I just give in or keep fighting? Before I can make a decision and before his fingers even dive in, Bowers is off of me. I look up to see Mike push Bowers down the well, screaming and a 'holy shit', from Richie. Mike rushes back over to me, a crying, sweaty, mess. 

"Hey, you okay?" He asks as I stare at him, tears streaming down my face. He pulls me into a hug as I cling to him. I finally calm myself down as we stand up and stare over the well. "We're okay guys," Mike says, as the rest of the losers sigh in relief. He then tries to reload the airgun with his free arm, but it falls down the well. Thankfully, Bill grabs the airgun despite it having no ammo.

"Where's Stan?" I ask, my voice echoing and receiving tons of confused faces. "Guys, where's Stan?" I ask, again my voice louder. "Guys, where-" I start again but a scream, Stan's scream cuts me off. Shit. Shit. Shit. 

* * *

> _"I've been in the dugout - Lookin' for a way out..."_

Mike helps me down the rope as the rest of the losers run after Stan. I swing into the hole they were at and help Mike in. I start crawling down the drain pipe and help Mike out once we get to the end. He seems distracted though as his eyes are glossed over and his signature sweet smile is on. I cough, getting his attention and making his eyes widen. He looks like a little kid that caught but why? Was he staring at my ass? My thoughts are interrupted by another scream, causing me to grab Mike's hand and run towards the sound. We run into a room with the losers, minus Bill and Bev, surrounding Stan who's screaming. I quickly drop Mike's hand and force my way over to Stan. I go to pull him in a hug but he stiffens and starts backing away. 

"You left me! You took me into Neibolt! You're not my friends! You made me go into Neibolt!" Stan yells. 

"Stanley, I'm sorry," Eddie replies. 

"You made me go into Neibolt! This is your fault." He screams as I wrap my arms around him. This time, he melts into my hug.

'We would never let anything happen to you intentionally. We're here for you. You know we wouldn't do that to you. Come on." I say, in a soft voice, soothing Stan. 

"Where's Bill?" Stan whispers as we all look around. 

"Bill! Bill!" The losers scream, looking around for Bill. 

"What happen to sticking together, Bill?" I sigh, in annoyance. "Come on guys!" I yell, yet again taking Mike's hand and run down the other tunnel with the other losers. 

"Bill!" Eddie screams as he falls into the water. 

"Come on. Get out of there, dude. That's greywater." Richie replies, reaching for Eddie. 

"Wait, wait, wait. Oh, my god. Where's my fucking flashlight?!" Eddie yells, searching through the water for it. Suddenly, a mutilated head pops up making him scream. 

"Eddie!" Richie screams, scoping up Eddie. "Come on, let's get the fuck out of here! Come on!" Richie finishes, putting Eddie on his back. Ah I know we're low key about to die but they're my otp for sure. Once we reach the end of the tunnel to see a pile of trash and Bev floating in the air.

"Bev?" Mike asks as we get closer. 

"Holy shit," Richie says. 

"Shit. How...how is she in the air?" I ask, as well gather around under her. 

"Guys...are those...?" Eddie questions, motion to the pile of 'trash'.

"The missing kids...floating," I reply, as Stan catches my eye. He's staring at my hand intertwined with Mike's hand and then at my face. I stare in confusion and I mouth, 'What?' to Stan. 

"Just help me grab her." Ben interrupts before Stan can answer, as I quickly drop Mike's hand to help. Ben lifts me and I grab Bev by her legs. Once down, I stare at her glossy yes and blank face. 

"Why isn't she waking up?! What is wrong with her?! Beverly, please! Come on!" Ben yells, pushing me out of the way and shaking Bev. He then hugs her and after a few moments, kisses her. 

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" I yell, baffled as the rest of the losers either gasp or give a weird look. Are we just going to ignore the lack of consent here? I mean I shouldn't be the one to talk since I kissed Bev in my basement but still she was at least awake. I hope he knows this isn't some Disney movie where a kiss just wakes her up. 

"Wow," Richie exclaims, as Bev gasp for air and her eyes open, returning to normal. Ok, maybe I was wrong. 

"January embers," Bev states, making me remember the poem. from her secret admirer.

"My heart burns there too," Ben replies, finishing the poem and revealing that he was the secret admirer. Gonna be honest didn't see that coming but who am I to judge. 

"Jesus, fuck." Richie sighs, breaking the tension and hugging them. We all gather around and hug, thankful that Bev is alive. It was a sweet, sentimental moment until Bev ruined it and reminded us why we were here in the first place. 

"Where's Bill?" She asks, as we all stop hugging and look around to see him just staring at something. We all run over to see Bill talking to...Georgie. Georgie? But, he's dead? And his arm is missing?

"Take me home, Billy." Georgie whimpers. "I wanna go home. I miss you. I wanna be home with mom and dad." He finishes.

"I want more than anything for you to be home. With mom and dad. I miss you so much." Bill replies as I feel my eyes water.

"I love you, Billy." Georgie states. 

I love you too." Bill whispers back, as full-on tears stream down my cheeks. Everything was finally coming into place. First, the losers club reuniting, then finding Bev and now Georgie, maybe we could all be to finally move on. "But, you're not Georgie, "Bill spits, walking to Georgie and shooting him in the forehead. Well, shit. Bill just killed his little brother...there's no coming back from this. Georgie then falls to the ground and is immobile. Till he starts shaking and his limbs grow and transform into the clown's limbs. 

"Kill It, Bill!" Eddie screams as the rest of the losers scream with him. 

"It's not loaded," I mutter as Bill places the airgun against the clown's head. 

"Hey! It's not loaded!" Mike screams, but Bill doesn't listen as he pulls the trigger. Of course, nothing comes out but the clown's forehead flakes off with fragments floating off, never to be seen again. The clown then bends backward with blood floating like before but this time from his forehead. It then shakes, screams, and runs after us, landing on Bill. Bill has the airgun up so the clown is biting down on metal instead of his face. Then, Bill throws the airgun, causing the clown to be thrown with it. 

Bev then runs over with a spike from Bill's bag, trying to impale the clown. But It latches onto the spike, stopping Bev in her tracks. Thankfully, she grabs it out of Its grasp as I run over to the clown with a baseball bat. I didn't even get a hit in before the clown slaps me across the room. Bill runs up to the clown and successfully impales it in the mouth. He then jumps on It's back causing the clown to spin, trying to get Bill off. While distracted, Richie runs over and jumps on the clown's back. Stan and Ben follow suit as Stan grabs one of the clown's arms and Ben bites down on his other which... 1) ew Ben that's actually disgusting and 2)...I apologize to your dentist aka Mr. Tozier. 

Eddie, Bev, Mike, and I stare at the others as the clown then spins, throwing all the losers and hitting one of us. Richie lands on Eddie and Ben lands on Bev which is kinda cliche to me. (yes yes it is). While Stan lands on me and beside Mike. But before we can get ourselves together, Mike's gasp alerts us over to the clown. He has Bill in a headlock. Shit. Shit. Shit.

The clown is grinning as Bill is squirming in his hold like I was in Bower's grip. 

"Let him go." Bev pleads, causing the clown to grin more. 

"No. I'll take him. I'll take all of you! And I'll feast on your flesh as I feed on your fear!"He starts, accessing our faces. "Or you just leave us be. I'll take him, only him and then I'll have my long rest and you'll all live to grow and thrive and lead happy lives until old age takes you back to the weeds." The clown finishes. On one hand, we could leave without anyone minus Bill dying or we stick together as losers and die together. I look around to see the others with weird, confused looks on their face. They seem to be considering the same thing. But I can't leave Bill or let Stan be without his soulmate, in my eyes at least.

"Leave..." Bill whispers out. "I'm the one who dragged you all into this. I'm s-s-so sorry." Bill stutters out. "Go!" Bill yells as none of us have moved a muscle. 

"Guys, we can't!" I shout as Bev nods with me. 

"I told you, Bill. I fucking told you. I don't want to die. It's your fault." Richie starts, walking toward Bill. I look over at Eddie giving him a look that says, 'What the fuck is your boyfriend doing?' I was under the impression that they had made up earlier, but I was obviously wrong. "You gave me a black eye. You made me walk through shitty water. You brought me to a fucking crackhead house. And now," Richie pauses as he grabs the discarded baseball bat I had earlier. "I'm gonna have to kill this fucking clown." Richie finishes, making the clown drop Bill. I stand corrected. I smile turning to the rest of the losers who are also smiling and grabbing weapons. 

"Welcome to the Losers' Club, asshole!" Richie yells, running and hitting the clown square in the face with the bat. Richie then throws me the bat as Mike runs over to the clown and stabs It in the mouth with a spike. I come up behind Mike and hit It in the face again, causing the spike to go through his mouth, popping out on the other side. Stan is next, cutting the clown's hands-off. What we didn't know to anticipate was then the clown's face contorts into a distorted woman's face. This must be the woman Stan is afraid of as he pales and stops in his track. The clown runs toward Stan but Mike hits the clown, making him fall. It turns towards Mike as its face turns back to the clown, but now he has giant crab claws.

It runs toward Mike trying to stab him but misses Mike as he rolls away. I then grab another spike and stab the clown, not only making him bleed but turning its attention to me instead of Mike. His head turns around, with his body still facing Mike, and transforms into a mummy. Its bandages unravel and wrap around my head trying to pull my face closer. The mummy's face is trying to bite mine off but suddenly drops me as I see Mike with chains in hands. I touch my hair and see that whatever goo was around the mummy's wrap is now in my hair. I gonna kill that fucking clown. 

We all stand and surround the clown, beating the clown with various weapons. The clown's face then transforms into a leper, turns to Eddie, and coughs up the same black liquid from fake Eddie the last time we were here. I'm not sure what reaction the clown was expecting as Eddie gags and screams,

"I'm gonna kill you!" before kicking It in the face. The clown then rolls over to Bev turning to her dad, smirking. 

"Hey, Bevvie. Are you still my little-" 'Bev's dad' starts, before Bev stabs the clown in the mouth with a spike. It then tries spitting out the spike but it seems to be lodged in its throat. The clown backs up into the well, still trying to get the spike out. We surround the clown as Bev grabs the spike, not only pulling it out but It's heart too. The clown's eyes widen as we all stare at the heart. 

"That's why you didn't kill Beverly. 'Cause sh-sh-she wasn't afraid. And we aren't either." Bill starts. "Not anymore. Now you're the one who's afraid. Because you're not only gonna starve but die too." Bill finishes, grabbing the heart off the spike to prove his point. 

"He thrusts his fists against the posts and still insists he sees the ghosts." The clown taunts, teasing Bill for the sentence he was assigned to help his stutter. This angers Bill as he starts squeezing the heart. "He thrusts his fists against the p-p-p-post-"It states as the rest of us help Bill squeeze the heart. The clown breathes its last breath and dies. It is finally over as his skin flakes off into the wind until his body is no longer there.

"Guys. The kids are floating down." Eddie states as we all turn to the trash pile. All the missing kids, toys, as literal trash float down slowly towards us. Bill runs over to the pile, picking up a yellow raincoat and hugging it. Georgie's. His body shakes and I hear him cry softly. We all walk over to Bill and wrap our arms around in a big ole tight hug. 

Yes, the clown's reign of terror was over but I wish Georgie's life didn't have to be taken.

    

    

    

    

    

    

    

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so i changed the plot, slighty.... i mean i hated that homophobic clown from the start ok the gays deserved to be together 
> 
> also i rewatched it chapter 1 and just realized Richie doesn't in fact have curly hair or sneak into Eddie's window which a) saddens me and b) shows me that i read way to much fanfiction...whoops :)


	12. Normal Girl

> _"Wish I was the type of girl you take over to mama - The type of girl, I know my daddy, he'd be proud of..."_

y/n POV: 

It's been two weeks since the clown was killed. The Denborughs were able to give Georgie a proper funeral that brought me to tears. The police even investigated the clown's house on 29 Neibolt Street. Apparently, the well in the house led to a drainpipe and they found Bowers surrounded by the kids. He was charged for the murders of all the missing kids, his dad, and his goons. I have never felt as much joy as the day we watched him in the back of a cop car screaming. Oh, the smile I had on my face when the police rode off with Bowers to take him to a mental institute.

Now, it's August and the Loser's club is reunited and stronger than ever. The only thing different was the fact that Bill and Bev split up, though it was mutual. Besides that, we losers now have an official clubhouse hidden in the woods thanks to Ben which is our home away from home and usual hangout minus the sleepovers. The sleepovers are every Saturday at Bill's since his house is the biggest and his parents are the most chill about eight almost seniors in their home. From movies to truth or dare, there is never a dull moment during the sleepovers. Especially since Richie always picks dare and will do and each and every dare. One time he was dared to streak down the street and almost got ran over twice. 

But, today isn't one of those days. Today, we're all in the clubhouse discussing Bev's vision. 

"I can only remember parts, but, I thought I was dead. That's what it felt like. I saw two different versions of us older like our parent's ages. The first one, we were all scared and Stan and y/n weren't with us." She starts, looking at me and Stan sadly. "But, the second one, we were all happy, living our best lives. We got everything we wanted." Bev finished, glancing at Mike and Ben with a smile.

"Swear it. Swear if It isn't dead, if It or any of the feature comes, that we'll come back." Bill declares, grabbing a shard of glass from off the ground. We all watch and stand in a circle as Bill sticks out his left hand and makes a slice in the middle of his palm. He then repeats the action on everyone's left hand starting with Bev, then Ben, Richie, Eddie, Mike, me, and finally Stan. We all either wince or curse except for Bev, who acts like it doesn't bother her. After Bill finishes, he gets back into the circle and we all hold hands for a few moments. I'm not sure what anyone else is thinking but I know that I'm a) having an Eddie moment wondering what the heck is on this glass and b) think this circle kinda looks like a cult. 

After a few moments, we all drop our hands and look at one another. 

"I gotta go. I hate you." Stan states, making Bill look sorta sad. But, then Stan smiled to show he was joking, making all of us laugh. I smirked as Stan left since Bill's eyes were trained to Stan's ass as he climbed out of the treehouse. I caught his eyes once Stan left, making him blush. 

"You cared to explain what that was Bill?" I ask, making him more of a stuttering mess. 

"I- I- I w-w-wasn't, I- he h-ha-had something on h-h-his pants-s. " Bill quickly stuttered out. 

"Or maybe something in his pants," Richie replied, making Bill glare at him and the rest of us bust out laughing. 

"Just go get your man before he walks too far," Bev stated as Bill look around for assurance that we all gave him. He quickly jumps up, runs up the stairs, and follows after Stan.

"Did anybody else know about them? I mean I knew Stan liked Bill but I had no idea about Bill." I said, as everyone but Bev nodded with me. I give her a confused look until she starts to speak. 

"When Bill and I dated, he was always distracted by something. At first, I thought it was just about Georgie but then I saw how he looked at Stan. Plus, he wasn't even the one who gave me the poem." Bev replies, casually glancing at Ben who face is beet red. "I'm just happy they get to have each other." She finishes, as I smile at the thought, unaware of a special someone looking at me. 

* * *

> _"I wish I was a normal girl, oh my..."_

~time skip to last day of summer~ 

This was it. The last day of summer. Same time next year, we'll all be up in college. Maybe together, maybe apart. This Monday would be our last first day of school at Derry High. We would be walking in as seniors, kings of the school. No longer terrorized but psychos, human and nonhuman. All of us losers decided to have a party instead of a sleepover. Bev and Ben brought his stereo and a couple of speakers. Bill and Stan, who are officially together and my favorite couple after Richie and Eddie, brought all of our favorite movies and his popcorn machine. Richie and Eddie brought snacks and some of Mrs. Tozier's best liquor. And Mike and I set up the barn. The night was a success. We danced, we sang, we watched movies, played truth or dare, and all the other fun stuff. The night slowly ended as we all drifted off to sleep, with the singles in our sleeping bags and the couples on one of the couches.

The next day, I woke to Stan stroking Bill's hair as he was fast asleep. He smiled and blushed at me as I motioned to Bill. I look to the other couch to see Richie and Eddie on the couch, with their limbs tangled together. Eddie was 'big spoon' being the power bottom he was, making me laugh slightly. Ben and Bev were in the kitchen with Ben making breakfast as always while Bev nursing her hangover. I stood up, walking to the kitchen as I laid out aspirin and water for anyone else that hangovers. 

"Mornin y'all," I said, putting on the coffee and tea, for Stan, as the other losers stumbled in. The smell of Ben's coking was so addictive that it could wake anyone up even Richie, whos a mega deep sleeper.

"Why did you let me drink so much?" Bill asks, slumping down into one of the chairs next to Bev. 

"You needed to let loose. You've been too uptight with college." Bev answered, handing Bill water and an aspirin. 

"Plus, you're the only one that's easy to convince to drink more," I added as Bill shot me a glare then instantly faltered from his headache. I laughed as I sat down and dove into my food. 

"Quiet down before you wake up the hosts of the RichieandEddie show," Stan states, grabbing his tea from my hand and sitting beside Bill. 

"Too late," Mike replied as he walks into the kitchen and making all of us groan. He motions to the living room where we all hear soft bickering that starts getting louder and louder. 

"You are such a fucking liar!" Eddie yells, storming into the kitchen. 

"Nah ah! Facts are facts, Eds!" Richie yells back, right behind Eddie. 

"Oh sure! But I know for a fact I did first." Eddie replies. 

"Yeah! Well, uh...I have evidence! Stan-"Richie starts. 

"Do not drag me into this." Stan interrupts. 

"-knows cause I told him first! Or ask y/n! Yeah!" Richie finishes. 

"What are y'all fighting about? And why do I have to be involved?" I ask as I finish up my food. 

"Richie thinks he liked me first when I 100% liked him first," Eddie answers, as we all groan.

"Really that's what you two are fighting about? Out of all things?" I question, rolling my eyes as they both nod. "Nope, I'm not actually I probably shouldn't since I've only known you guys for almost a year," I add as I get up to put my dishes in the sink. 

"But y/n! We need someone to settle this." Richie replies as Eddie nods with him. 

"Then get Bill to do. I need n/n any way." Bev states, as she grabs my hand and leading me outside. I mouth 'sorry' to Bill as the RichieandEddie show hosts bombard him. Once outside, Bev stops and we sit on the porch swing. She takes out her cigarettes and tries to offer me one. I refused, telling her how I promised Eddie that I wouldn't smoke. 

"Wow. Senior year, am I right?" She says, as she lights her cigarette and inhales. 

"Yeah, I know. Who knew I'd be out of this hell hole sooner than I thought?" I reply, making her chuckle. "I mean I guess I'll miss it. But only for you guys." I continue. 

"Yeah, I get what you mean," Bev stated, inhaling again. 

"You think you'll like living with your aunt? Since you're moving in today?" I asked. The day the clown died, the cops were called to Bev's. Apparently, a neighbor called after hearing glass and various things break. The police actually did their job and took Bev's dad to court. There, he lost custody to Bev and her aunt was given custody. The only problem was that Bev's aunt lived on the outskirts of Derry like Mike. It wasn't too bad but she was still farther than usual. 

"It's not bad. She's a lot nicer and lets me go out more. But thanks for reminding me, I gotta go to my dad's to grab the rest of my stuff. Tell the other losers, I'll talk to them soon." Bev started, as she put out her cigarette. "Also, here's my new number. Give it to the rest of the losers too ok?" Bev asked, as she stood up and I nodded. We hugged and then she walked off. 

Not even 5 minutes later, Ben rushed out of the house like he was looking for something. 

"Oh hi, y/n. Did you -" Ben started. 

"See Bev?" I smirked as Ben's face blushed. "Yeah, she just went to her dad's. You may be able to catch her if you hurry up." I finished. Ben nodded a thanks and ran off in the direction. I smiled as he ran off. Their tension was rising after Bev and Bill split up and I'm happy that I might've set them up. Moments later, the front door opened with Mike stepping out. Richie's and Eddie's bickering was abruptly heard but then muffled when the door closed. 

"Hey," I said as Mike stood in front of me.

"Hey." He shot back. "Do you wanna chill in the barn?" 

"You read my mind. Let's go." I replied with a smile. We both then started walking over to the barn, unaware of our names being called.

* * *

> _"Like it, when I be aggressive -_ _Love when I say to you..."_

The walk to the barn was rather quiet, not that I minded. Being the gentlemen he is, Mike opened the door for me like always. We both then climbed up the ladder to our secret spot. It was where Mike's grandfather stored the hay, but there was a small space that could just about fit two people. Once up there, we laid down and started talking about life in general. 

"So senior year and your first year at public school? That sounds rough buddy (if ya know, ya know. plus I love ya) ." I started, as our new topic went to school. 

"Yeah, but it won't be bad cause I have you guys, right?" He asked. 

"Oh, always. Nobody else went what we went through this summer. So, we're bound to stick together." I answered. 

"Yeah. So I- um seems like everyone is coupling up, right?" Mike mumbled. 

"Omg, I thought it was just me! First, Richie and Eddie, but we all knew they were gonna get together soon enough. Then, Stan and Bill. And, now Ben and Bev most likely! We'll be the only people left, for dances and their couple outings." I sighed.

"Yeah, we'll be third and fourth wheels. No, the seventh and eighth wheel." Mike added. 

"Ha, yeah. We'll be stuck together while the rest of the losers swap spit." I replied, laughing at the thought. Silence filled the room as my laughter died down. 

"Would it be bad?" Mike murmured softly. 

"What?" I asked, sitting up to look at him closer. 

"I- would it be bad if we were stuck together?" Mike repeated as he sat up. 

"No of course not!" I answered quickly. " I just meant that until you get a date that we-" I started. 

"You mean one of us?" Mike interrupted. 

"I'm most likely not gonna get a date. Plus you're fresh meat, no offense, so who knows who you'll find at school." I continued. 

"I think you could get a date, y/n," Mike states.

"Ok, now I definitely know you've never been to public school," I replied. 

"No, seriously. Anyone would be lucky to date you, even just have you." Mike declares, as my stomach does a backflip. He then brings one hand up to cup my face while the other takes a piece of hay out of my hair. By this point, my heart is beating uncontrollably, like at any moment it would plop out into Mike's lap. Mike starts leaning forward as I follow his example. I start to close my eyes, thinking that this was it. I could kiss Mike and maybe date him. But, as always my luck can go suck a dick. 

"Y/n? Mike? Are you in here? Y/n, you promised me you would- Oh shit!" Eddie yells, bursting the barn doors open. My eyes shoot open and I quickly back away from Mike. I look over toward Eddie who's mortified and Richie who's holding my sleeping back with a smug look on his face.

"Were we interrupting something?" Richie sneers. I shoot him a glare as I start climbing down the ladder. 

"No, I- nothing. I'm coming, Eddie." I answer as I start to walk toward the couple. "Uh, bye Mike," I say, as I wave to Mike and grab my sleeping back from Richie. We all walk out of the barn unaware of Mike groaning and slamming his head into the wall. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> wow this is embarssing. not me update in 2 weeks. sry guys school work, depression, and lack of motivation was getting the best of me. but I'm back, still black, and ready to keep writing. also someone be proud of me I came out to my friends yesterday


	13. Pretty Little Birds/ 20 Something

> _"You are but a phoenix among feathers - You're broken by the waves among the sea - They'll let you die, they'll let you wash away - But you swim as well as you fly..."_

y/n POV: 

It's been almost one month since the barn incident. Richie teased me about that little fiasco in the barn for weeks with Eddie apologizing profusely while Mike and I pretended that it never happened. Since then though, we all started senior year and went from losers to sort of not losers. Let me explain. For some weird reason, all of us were becoming low key successful. Blame it on the clown or blame it one of the other losers luck, but we were all getting some form of popularity in one way or another.

Bev joined the drama club to help with the costumes and started making her own clothes, calling them "Marsh Originals". Bill was in the art club and became the editor of the school newspaper. Stan was still doing his own thing but made tons of money tutoring people with the help of this new girl named Pam. Eddie joined track while Richie did the morning announcements and worked at the movie theater/arcade combo. Ben and Mike both joined football and worked at the public library together. And with all that training with football, they both lost a ton of weight but gained it back in muscle. Meaning, that tons of people liked them. Ben was claimed for by Bev but Mike was constantly getting asked out by girls, which I'm jealous of at all. Not even one bit. Moving on. I, on the other hand, had shifts at the movie theater/arcade combo with Richie and helped out my friends whenever I was needed. 

And even with that new popularity or recognition, there were still bullies and people trying to make our last year hell. From Sonia to Gretta to the new hierarchy since Bowers was gone. But through it all, we losers stuck with each other. Now that you're all caught up, let me tell you about tonight: homecoming. See tonight was the first dance I would ever go to. Last year, Bill, Stan, Eddie, Richie, and I went over to Bill's and watched movies for all the dances. But, this year, everyone was going with their s/o, except, you guessed it, Mike and I. From what I had heard, he was being asked by tons of people so I didn't even bother. 

Now I was sitting in the gym that was decorated for the dance on the bleachers. I watched as everyone danced around, grabbed food, and ultimately enjoyed themselves. Couldn't say the same for me since I was too busy staring at some girl flirting with Mike.

"If you squeeze that cup and harder you're going to ruin your dress," Eddie said, appearing beside me. "He doesn't like her anyway." He added as he sat down. 

"I- I don't- He can-" I started. 

"Oh please, y/n, we all see how much you like him. Seriously, it's kinda annoying at this point." Eddie states. 

"Your one to talk. You know how long I had to deal with you and Richie" I shoot back. 

"Touché." Eddie starts. 

"Let's just drop it and forget about it. He obviously has." I interrupt, motioning to Mike who was dancing with some unknown girl. Suddenly the music changed, playing "Africa" by TOTO, aka Eddie's and Richie's song. Richie who was previously on the dance floor doing who knows what was now in front of us holding his hand out to Eddie. I saw Eddie eying me like he was conflicted about if he should stay or go dance.

"Go dance with your boyfriend. We'll talk later ok?" I answered as Eddie gave me a small smile, taking Richie's hand as they move to the dance floor. I watched them dance for a few moments before I walked out of the gym, dumping my drink in the trashcan. I walked down the hallway till I get to my locker, leaning against it and sliding down to sit on the floor. What am I doing? I should've talked to Mike sooner. Now some girl has him in her clutches. And why wouldn't he like her I mean-

"Hey. Need a drink?" Stan asked, breaking me out of my thoughts. He walks over and hands me a drink as he sits down. 

"Thanks, Stan. Where's Bill?" I ask as he drinks one of his own. 

"Got stuck doing limbo with Richie. I told Eddie to record for me since I'm y/n duty right now." Stan replied making me smile. "You sure you're alright though? Not used to you moping around like this." He questions, his voice softer like how it is during bird watching. 

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just don't really like dances that much I guess." I answered, trying to ignore his stare. Everyone knows once Stan looks into your eyes he can tell exactly how you're feeling. 

"So it doesn't have anything to do with the fact that Mike is dancing with someone right?" He smirks, as I spit out my drink. 

"Nope. Never. Don't care at all." I replied, trying to sound nonchalant, but failing. 

"Mhmm. I see. So, you wouldn't care if I told him to come out here and talk to you right?" Stan continued, as I shot him a glare. Dang, it. He tricked me. Stan's expression soften a little as I rolled my eyes at him. 

"Whatever. It doesn't matter since I'm leaving anyway. I'm tired and I'll see you on Monday, k?" I stated as we both got up, walking towards the gym and the exit. 

"What about movie night tomorrow?" Stan asks as he stopped at the gym door and my hand was on the door to exit. 

"Nah, gotta pick up an extra shift. Need money for college and stuff." I reply, waving to stand and walking out into the night. I hate dances, always have. But, only one more and then I'll be out. Not even 10 minutes later, I hear my name being called.

"Y/n! Wait up!" Mike yells. Dang, it. Didn't know Stan was serious. But, it's Stan. And when he's on a mission, there's no one getting his way. Prolly got Eddie on his side too. I turn around, waiting for Mike to catch up with me. 

"Stan and Eddie send you out here?" I ask, as he pulls to a stop in front of me. 

"I- yeah. But, I had to tell you something tonight anyway." He replies. " Y/n, I-" Mike starts.

"-have a crush on that girl who was dancing with you?" I finish, for him. "Yeah, I can tell. I think she likes you too." I continue, as Mike stares at me dumbfounded. 

"I- what? Stephanie and I aren't like that-" Mike starts again.

"I mean I told you that'd you be the first one to get a date. And, what's her name? Oh, Stephanie, she seems sweet. I think she's in my study hall." I state, completely ignoring what Mike just said. 

"Y/n I-" Mike tries to start for the third time. (Jeez homegirl just won't let this man talk.)

"And, she is very pretty I mean it's crazy how y'all found each other at homecoming. Like it's kinda cliche. But whatever." I continue. 

"You're not listening..." Mike mumbles as I continue to ramble. 

"But, I gotta get home. Eddie was supposed to walk me but he and Richie are doing their own thing." I finished, waving Mike off. Jeez, I knew he liked her. How stupid was I know I'm the only loser to not have a date. I can't believe how stupid I-

"Y/n, wait," Mike states, grabbing my arm and getting me out of my thoughts. 

"What do-" I start, but am cut off by Mike kissing me. Wait. Mike is kissing me! Right now! And, I'm not kissing back! I quickly kiss Mike back, as he cups my cheek. I could stay like this forever. But yet again, luck = suck a dick. At least she let me kiss him first this time. 

I hear someone obnoxiously coughing behind us and turn to see the losers staring at us. 

"Get a room!" Bev shots, followed by laughing, thumbs up and mouthed 'sorry' from Ben. 

"I- did you guys follow us out here?" I ask. 

"Of course. I had to make sure Mike followed through so it wasn't a repeat of Richie and Eddie all over again." Stan replies, earning glares and scoffs from the couple. 

"W-w-what he's trying to s-say is that we're glad you guys are finally to-to-together," Bill adds, as the other losers voice their agreement. After a little while of congratulations and others similar to that, Richie just had to put his two cents in. 

"So, does this mean we can finally do an epic eight-way loser's orgy?" Richie states. 

"Trashmouth!" We all scream along with throw up noises and threats to strangle him.

> _"And if it's an illusion, I don't want to wake up - I'm gonna hang on to it - Because the alternative is an abyss, is just a hole, a darkness, a nothingness - Who wants that? you know? - So that's what I think about control - And that's my story, and I'm stickin' to it..."_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> wow its finally done. i've finished my first ever fic. thank you to all the comments and kudos from this and thank you for bearing with me. with this being my first fic I know its not the best but I hope my writing improves from here. i hope I can look back later and see how much I've grown. so again thank you and i hope to see you in my next fic (:


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